Taxes and Taxes
by BenchBeYoking
Summary: ...Because it's all that's left when death isn't so certain. A quirky American student finds himself in a land with different laws and a different language, neither of which he understands. Still chasing his seemingly unreachable dreams, Lazarus Poe will let nothing stop him, not even Student Visa paperwork! PLUS ULTRA! (All Reviews welcome!) (Art by aireyverkhovensky)
1. Lazarus

**Authors Note:**

 **Hello everyone! I'll keep this short so you can get into the story, because you aren't here to hear me ramble.**

 **Cover art is by the wonderful Airey,** **Find her twitter at** **/revolutionAirey/status/954511209050521600**

 **Without further ado, I'll let the chapter, speak for itself...**

* * *

It all began in Quin Quin, China. Across the raging sea and for the people of America, a whole other world away.

With a shocking cry, a baby was born that defied all logic and would to many, seem to herald the end times. A child whom glowed with a radiant light, so bright they could barely be looked at. This event obviously, shocked the world. Experts were puzzled with the miraculous child, theories ranged from mutations due to exposure to radiation, to whispers of twisted government experiments to create super soldiers; Furthermore, some even claimed it was an angelic gift from a god. Yet they all decided on one thing for sure, that the child was a once in a lifetime miracle, a abnormality that would never be seen again.

They had no idea how wrong they were.

Within months, superpowers began to suddenly, and violently, manifest within societies all around the world. Seemingly overnight, civilization collapsed. Governments lost control and witch hunts began. It was a dark time in American history especially, when brother fought sister, villains conquered cities and hope and goodwill were in short supply. It was a time of shame and mistrust, yet the darkest days lead to the most brilliant dawns.

Heroes, those who dared to stand up to the Tyrants who had taken power built followings and took back their homes. The Age of Villainy had come to a swift end, and the Age of Heroes had begun. What was once trapped in the pages of comic books had become the real.

That was many years ago, nowadays, almost 80% of the world's population has a power, a 'quirk' that manifests in some fantastical way, there are more heroes now than ever before. Each generation passes their quirk down to their children; consequently, the child's own quirk can become a mixing of their parents, taking the existing and making it something new.

America, while in many places an example to the rest of the world, still has many places of darkness, lagging behind the rest of the world. Gangs clutch their territory, working under the nose of heroes as they terrorize those trapped, economically and socially, within their grasps. All still trying to recover from an age of darkness that lasted far too long. America is still try to reconciling the laws they have which value freedom and self-service, with a world where the everyday man could possibly destroy a city with a sneeze.

Yet our story doesn't begin in the lands of USA. Our story begins in the home of the greatest pro's in the world, in a place where the best and brightest young heroes are drawn, in a place filled with tourists of all kinds, our story begins in Japan.

* * *

The scent of fresh fruit washed over Lazarus like nothing he had ever felt before, hunger dulling his already jet-lagged body. He let out a sigh. He watched his palms twitch as his stomach growled, he could practically taste the apple he was staring at.

Lazarus cast his eyes up at the price tag, before softening his focus and looking at the entire booth he was standing at, he let his gaze follow the young lady behind the booth rushing back and forth, her brown hair and green eyes were plain, but Lazarus noted her two green thumbs, which left very little question in his mind as to what quirk she would posses. She turned around suddenly to him, and smiled kindly as she stepped forward, Lazarus half-heartedly smiled back, nodding as he fumbled around in his pocket for his booklet; however, Green Thumb began speaking before he could pull out his cheat-sheet.

"Tetsudaimashou ka?" She says, leaving Lazarus to quickly take his notepad out of his pocket and flip through it, he could feel her eyes burrowing into his downturn head with confusion. After a moment of awkward silence, he smiled and responded in incredibly rusty Japanese, speaking the words slowly, focusing on enunciation as he went.

"I'm sorry" he spoke, his brain translating what little he was saying back to English inside his own head. "I'm not local." he spoke, constantly looking back down at his booklet after every word, struggling to simplify his complex English vocabulary into simpler, easy to translate words without always relying on his dictionary. "I am very apple hungry." He smiled, he felt there might have been something wrong with that last comment; nevertheless, he hoped it got his point across to Green Thumb.

Blinking twice at him, Lazarus saw her start tilting her head to the side as her brow kept furrowing further. He let out another sigh, taking his wallet out of his pocket and moving to pull out enough to pay for an apple. He had failed to remove his American change from his wallet and swore quietly to himself in English as he fumbled for the yen kept inside the small wallet.

"Ahem." Green Thumb cleared her throat, Lazarus lifted his head up, locking his eyes onto hers, she was smiling and holding out an apple in her hand. Lazarus moved to hand over his change, but she simply shook her head and continued smiling at him. Lazarus cautiously moved his hand out, and she threw the apple underhand, Lazarus easily caught the red snack and wiped it on his red T-shirt as he put his booklet away, turning back to the Lady and thankfully knowing exactly what to say.

"Thank you!" He spoke, then, after a moment bowed slightly, unsure of what exactly the custom was in this situation. Green Thumb bowed back; consequently, Lazarus nervously bowed back, slightly faster this time.

Green Thumb's eyes never left Lazarus's as she bowed yet again, lower than before. Lazarus was now terrified, his book had not described what to do when a friendly shopkeeper engages in a bowing war of attrition. Lazarus took a deep breath and bowed one last time, waving as he came up and slowly stepping away from her. Green Thumb giggled and mimicked his wave as she turned back to tending her business. Lazarus let out a breath he hadn't felt himself holding, before licking his lips and taking a massive bite of the apple, wiping the juices away from his face with his other arm. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the sweet flavor of the fruit.

"Maybe Japan isn't as different from back home as I thought…" He spoke to himself in English.

"AH!" A voice screeched from somewhere in front of him. Lazarus let out a cough, panic suddenly seizing him, freezing his body in place.

"Crap, please tell me that's not directed at me." He muttered to himself as he forced his head to move up slightly, his eyes scanning for what the commotion was about, his eyes landing squarely on a mask wearing thug, running through the crowded square, a third arm growing out of his back holding a purse.

"Unless that man has as much of an appreciation of neon pink as I do." Lazarus muttered as he felt his body relax, satisfied that a course of action had been decided upon.

"I do believe that man has stolen someone's purse." Lazarus let out a smile as he felt all his nervous energy pulse through his body, before channeling that energy into adrenaline, his muscles tensing as he pulled a tiny metal cube out of his back pocket.

"Darekaga eiyū o yobu!" Green Thumb screamed behind him, but he didn't have the time or the mental presence to try and translate her panicked cry, he had some saving to do. He pulled back his hand feeling his muscles strain as the familiar rush of adrenaline pumped through his body. His eyes locked onto the Thief running in front of him, before gazing back at his arm, watching the cube physically shake, pulsing to the beat of his heart. He turned his eyes forward again, switching the items in his hand so he held the apple yet again in his dominate hand. The Thief had just passed him and was running away, his back exposed to Lazarus.

"God I've always wanted to say this!" Lazarus laughed, his face shifting into a determined line. "Ahem." He took a breath. "Smash!" With that, his arm snapped forward, sending the apple flying in such a way that it knocked Lazarus off balance and squarely onto his chest, his arm strained with the force of the throw. Lazarus watched as the poor Thief turned his head to the side to see what the commotion was behind him just in time for the apple to connect squarely with his face. The Thief stumbled back, smashed his head into a stop sign, and dropped to the ground.

Lazarus forced himself onto his feet, his arm still shaking uncontrollably after the sudden ace-pitch outta nowhere, he simply shook the pins and needles from his arm as walked confidently towards the downed Thief. He took a moment to catch his breath as he used his foot to turn over the downed thief, quickly picking up what was left of his apple and throwing the chunks into a nearby garbage bin; He put his cube back in his pocket, the extra energy holding it gave him slipped away.

Lazarus couldn't help biting his tongue as he checked out the already bruising mark on the man's cheek. He nodded sagely, he wasn't expecting to knock him out, only trip him up, but he had gotten lucky with when the man had turned around; still, he couldn't help but smile.

"That's what you get for screwing with Lazarus Poe!" He called, taking a moment to sit on his laurels.

Sudden shouting behind him snapped him out of his thoughts, he turned to see the police rushing down the street, he laughed, running a hand through his thick black hair, cursing himself as he knew he was messing up the product he had spent forever trying to apply to the mess on his head. He smiled at the Police as they kept a brisk pace towards him, he needed to look presentable for when they gave him their thanks for his assistance in apprehending the culprit.

"Furīzu!" One of the officers yelled as several of them surrounded him, Lazarus, though not understanding what had been said to him, froze in place in confusion. "Okay hold on, this is the guy you want!" Lazarus pointed down at the man below him, before remembering the officers most likely wouldn't understand English, thinking quickly, he swiftly reached for his pocket to grab his cheat sheet.

Then the officers drew their weapons.

In the blink of an eye, Lazarus had gone to his knees, locking his hands behind his head. He may have been in a foreign land, but the 'I'll come quietly, please don't shoot me.' pose was hopefully easily translatable to any language, and that was a pose Lazarus had learned very well in his youth. He felt his hands forced behind his back as heavy cuffs were placed on him, the offices grabbed him and moved. As he was being dragged back to wherever the Police had come from, he saw Green Thumb staring at him in horror as he was being pulled by, thinking quickly, he called out in broken Japanese.

"Thank apple friend! Jail prison you-chan write!" Then Green Thumb disappeared from view and the officer said something that sounded like a warning, and Lazarus shut his mouth and let his shoulders sag.

"Welcome to Japan Lazarus, you've already won a one-way all expenses paid trip to jail."

* * *

Lazarus sat, the cold metal chair digging painfully into his tailbone no matter how much he would shift around. He rubbed his sore wrists, taking deep breaths as he focused on rubbing the red marks out of his skin. Watching the door quietly as he waited for his judgement to come to pass. He looked around as he crossed his legs, tucking his entire body onto the chair.

"No matter where you go in the world, some things never change…" Lazarus put his hands to his cheeks as he bit his lip. He kept glancing down at an imaginary watch he wasn't wearing.

The door opened and a rather plain looking officer walked through the door, at a glance, he didn't seem to have any outward quirk. Before the officer could say a word, Lazarus risked cutting in.

"English?" He questioned, praying that he would get lucky.

"It's rusty." The officer replied, a thick accent attached, but Lazarus could care less, he forced his racing heart to slow down and focus on keeping control of his voice.

"Look, I don't know what kind of treatment for a citizen Hero this is, but let me tell you, it's a little disheartening." A little bit of a condescending tone slipped into Lazarus's voice, but he couldn't help it, he had stopped a robber and this was his treatment?

The Officer looked a little peeved, but also confused. "You...have a public hero license?" He seemed to struggle to find the right words, but Lazarus could understand him well enough to respond.

"No, obviously, I'm a little young you know?" Lazarus gestured to himself, frowning as he outlined his still rather youthful body, "But Citizen Hero's Act, you know? Public use of quirks in order to stop a criminal act in progress? This is a great way to treat way to treat someone doing your job for you." Lazarus watched the Officer's face, his confusion shifting to something that looked between pissed off and pity.

"Americans…" The Officer muttered, Lazarus was going to interject something smart-ass, but then decided that he had challenged the establishment enough for one day considering they could still deport him.

"Look, maybe in America they let you use your Quirks willy-nilly in public, but here? There are laws, and the 'Citizen Hero's Act' is not one of the ones we have." Lazarus stopped breathing for a moment, suddenly realizing that he had been working under the assumption he had done nothing wrong; when in technicality he had committed a serious offense against the law. Lazarus felt guilt, regret and shame well up in his chest all at once, while his snide sarcasm drained out.

"I, well." Lazarus coughed, his face going several shades of red, "I uh, believe in that case I owe you an apology for my previous behavior; I am sorry, I know that's not a very uh, well, good, response to learning one's broken the law, but, wow. Uh, I, was wrong." Lazarus balled his hands up in embarrassment, fear of an actually justified punishment ending his adventure prematurely welled up in his throat, threading to choke him. The Officer sighed.

"I see you've finally realized the severity of the offense you've committed." Lazarus felt the Officer's eyes burrow into his skull. Lazarus couldn't bring himself to look into his eyes, "But," he continued, "I see that this was simply due to a lack of cultural understanding...and some well meaning intentions." The Officer softened his appearance and sighed.

Lazarus risked speaking, "Well, sir, what happens to me now?" The Officer rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Now? Now you go home and stay out of trouble, we apprehended the Thief and you've been reprimanded, it would be far too much work to have to deal with all the paperwork if we wanted to prosecute you for anything." The Officer waved his hand and let out a small smile, "Don't do this again and we can all just call this a learning experience, okay?" Lazarus stared at the officer in disbelief, standing up slowly from the table.

"Thank you, thank you very much!" Lazarus smiled, fighting back a swell of emotions that suddenly replaced his shame. He offered his hand to shake, the Officer stared at it for a moment before he gingerly took his hand and shook it.

"I'll not forget your kindness sir, I promise, you'll never see my face in here again!" Lazarus jumped, clicking his heels together as he spun around opening the door, waving warmly at the Officer one more time before he bolted for the front entrance.

"No running in the hallway!" Lazarus heard the Officer calling out from behind him as he only picked up speed, bursting out the front entrance onto the busy streets of…

Lazarus became very aware of the fact he had no idea where he was.

* * *

Lazarus gasped as he emerged unscathed from the mass of people behind him, he took a few deep breaths as he felt like crying, he had not traveled far, but it felt like a journey that took him forever. He looked out across the park, he checked his watch again. Letting his eyes glance across the area, he finally locked onto a very awkward and plain looking couple with what look to be a kid his age holding a white sign reading 'Lazarus Poe' in English. Lazarus grinned, he couldn't help feeling like this was going to be interesting.

Lazarus strolled up to the family, who seemed surprised as he approached. "I am guessing you are the Hanta family?" Lazarus spoke, causing the Boy his age to glance at his father in confusion, who simply smiled back.

"Hello Lazarus Poe." The man spoke, surprising Lazarus with his perfect English.

"It is nice to meet you, I am Mr. Sero and this is my wife Mrs. Sero" He put an arm around his wife, who smiled warmly at Lazarus.

"And this, is my son Hanta Sero." Hanta waved halfheartedly, an expression of nonplus boredom all over his face. Lazarus looked him over quickly; Hanta looked like what Lazarus would assume an everyday plain John Doe from Japan would look like, (then again, Lazarus also had black hair, was somewhat tall and had a rather normal looking face, so Hanta was probably just as unimpressed with Lazarus's appearance as Lazarus was with Hanta's.) Though the weird bumps on Hanta's elbows intrigued him, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of a quirk would have that kind of a physical presence.

Lazarus figured it would be polite to exchange pleasantries. "Well uh, it's nice to meet yo-" Lazarus was cut off by Mr. Sero coughing politely.

"While I may be fluent in English, my wife only knows a bit, and my son is a little helpless, would you mind using Japanese?" Mr. Sero looked at Lazarus expectantly, Lazarus sighed, it had been phrased as a question, but he knew it was going to have to be his normal to converse in his non-native tongue.

Flipping through his language guide, he tried to form a coherent sentence. "Nice to meet you Hanta." He spoke, tripping over the words as he went, when he looked up at the end, Hanta was giving him a weird look and his folks were chuckling lightly.

"I suppose we have a lot to teach you." Mr. Sero spoke, causing Lazarus to glance up, skeptically watching the older man.

"In Japanese, honorifics are everything, just as you wouldn't think of addressing an authority figure as anything other then 'Mr.' or 'Sir', we use such terms in everyday life as a sign of respect to each other." As Mr. Sero lectured about the importance of honorifics, Lazarus bit his tongue to avoid mentioning he would, could, and had referred to 'authority' figures in far less flattering terms then 'Mr.' or 'Sir' yet he decided now was not the time or place to make a fuss about his personal experiences.

Hanta stepped forward suddenly, catching Lazarus off guard, Lazarus blinked as Hanta spoke, Lazarus appreciated that Hanta purposefully slowed down his words so Lazarus could catch them all. "Greetings Poe-kun, it's nice to meet you." He bowed, however, Lazarus suddenly felt the perfect opportunity to snark, and hoped comedy would break the ice.

"I'll try not to elbow in on any business that isn't mine." He grinned, his Japanese sounding somewhat less strained as humor slipped into his tone, "eh?"

Hanta looked at him as if he had just spoken gibberish. "Well- I don't get, what?" Hanta's lack of understanding was priceless, Lazarus couldn't help but laugh, his head falling forward as he wiped a stray tear from his eye, he did love a good pun; however, when he looked back up, clearly Hanta was very confused at not being in on the joke. His parents were looking at him a little weird as well.

"...Is there something funny?" Mrs. Sero spoke, her tone confused and a little concerned, "I don't think uh…" She looked at Hanta who's confusion seemed to shift to indifference.

Lazarus wondered to himself if he would ever learn his lesson about not screwing up a good thing as soon as he encountered it.

Lazarus tried to explain his poor attempt at English wordplay, still using a language he was unfamiliar with. "No! No-no-no-no, Elbow! Pun! Cause you have elbows, well, everyone has elbows, but you got big elbows, NOT that there's anything wrong with that, it's just a really noticeable feature so I figured I'd make fun of you, wait no that's even worse, I meant uh, breaking ice, and jokes! It joke?" Lazarus tripped over his own words as he tried to translate his hundred mile per hour train of thought into a suitable explanation, clearly, by the looks on the Sero family's faces, he'd done a very poor job at that.

Sighing, Lazarus shook his head and rested his hands in his face. "Poor joke, I apologize."

A silence descended over the four, the air filled with the sound of an occasional bird, or wind rustling the trees. Lazarus thought he might have heard a chipmunk, but the view of the top of his black sneakers was all his world currently was. The same feelings of guilt and shame rose in his chest as his emotions turned into anxiety within his chest. He clenched his fists, feeling his nails digging into the soft palms of his hands painfully, his breathing turned ragged, he had one job. He just had to keep his stupid mouth shut, that's all he had to do.

Mr. Sero clapped loudly, shaking everyone from their isolated moment of reflection as he took a deep breath. "Well! Everything's alright now! We just got your stuff from the airport, so...homeward bound!" Lazarus felt Mr. Sero's eyes looking at him. All Lazarus could do was nod silently and follow a few paces behind, his mind completely absorbed in his own head.

* * *

The Sero household was modest at best, it was a normal house, all things considering, it had two floors, a modern-ish kitchen with all the standard amenities, two bathrooms, a common living area, a master bedroom, Hanta's room and a guest bedroom which was to be Lazarus's for the next few months.

"Thank you." Lazarus said simply, taking a deep, shaky breath. He looked up and smiled, he felt the tension in his chest relax slightly, though the familiar weight of unhealthy energy in his gut and throat were still dominating the back of his mind. Mr. Sero smiled and clasped him once on the back as he walked away, leaving Lazarus to unpack his bags. Lazarus sighed again, trying to practice the breathing exercises that one therapist he saw taught him. He felt his energy relax, but like always, the threatening presence still remained and would most likely keep him up all night.

Lazarus distracted himself from the futility of actually trying to address the things that caused his stress by opening his bag and moving it into the room.

He noted that he hadn't brought as much with him over from America; he had his calendar, already flipped to January; his laptop and assorted electrical cables; his special pillow for his neck support; his photo book, filled with memories from the last few years back home; and his…

Lazarus slipped the small into his back pocket, happy that it had cleared customs without being detected, he would have to remember that carrying this was actually illegal here.

He walked back to his calendar, flipping through it until he reached the day of truth, the March entrance exam for UA. He felt his face shift, his features feeling more solid on his face. He turned and let the pages of the calendar fall. For a moment, his doubts were forgotten.

 _"Why UA?"_

The voice questioned Lazarus, though it hadn't been spoken by anyone in the house, not yet at least. Lazarus grinded his teeth, turning to leave the room as he felt a burning need to go let out some steam.

* * *

Lazarus quietly opened the door to the home, his body was warm and sore, the physical stress of working out always got his blood pumping. The house was dark, clearly, everyone had gone to bed since he had left.

"Mental note." Lazarus muttered to himself, "Don't be a party-animal past eleven o'clock." He grinned as he closed the door behind him, but stopped as he heard a soft muttering and faint light from the kitchen.

A single click sounded in the empty doorway, Lazarus looked down at his hand, the small switchblade he had stashed in his back pocket already hungry for blood as he felt the cube in his back pocket pulse in time with his own pounding heartbeat. Lazarus pressed his back against the wall as he moved towards the kitchen, peaking around the corner into the kitchen.

Hanta sat mumbling to himself at the kitchen table, several sheets of paper spread out in front of him. His posture screamed 'I wanted to be in bed an hour ago.'

"Read rhymes with lead? And read rhymes with lead? But read doesn't rhyme with lead and read doesn't rhyme with lead? What does that even mean? I'm so doomed…" Hanta moaned as he encountered the worst part of any language, the nuance of context. Suddenly, Lazarus felt that guilt and anxiety from earlier well up in his chest, suddenly, he was talking before he could second guess himself.

"You need a hand?" He spoke, his poor-sounding Japanese obviously startling Hanta. Who regarded him with caution.

"I-" Hanta stopped, clearly intending to, politely, turn him down, but Lazarus knew that look in Hanta's eye, it was the look of a man with nothing left to lose, "I...wouldn't mind it-"

Instantly Lazarus strolled across the room and quickly began reading over Hanta's shoulder. "Don't worry, I've been tutored a lot, being a lost cause myself, I think I've picked up something from all those sessions, if I can't teach you English, no one can." Lazarus cracked his knuckles as he absorbed the lesson, taking in the information as quickly as he could.

"...Thank you Poe-kun." Hanta spoke, suddenly sounding a lot less wary and simply more tired. Lazarus frowned and spoke as loudly as he could without risking waking everyone up.

"Okay, just call me Lazarus, all this prefix stuff is really weird. Just Lazarus." Lazarus did not wait for a response before continuing to mutter his way through Hanta's work, marking it in his head as he went.

"You really are hopeless when it comes to Japanese huh?" Hanta chortled, Lazarus stopped and shot him a glare, but if Hanta cared, he didn't show it on his face.

"Hey, I've got time-" Lazarus began before Hanta pointed at him and cut him off.

"Just under three months to become fluent and educated in a language you clearly have no experience with? That's putting something off to the last second even in my books." Hanta's pointed accusation cut though Lazarus like a hot knife through butter, leaving Lazarus momentarily speechless, and with no witty comeback to retort with.

"I have faith in my abilities." Lazarus wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself, or Hanta.

"...Why UA?" Hanta asked, and Lazarus felt his blood run cold.

"It's the best school for people who want to be famous Heroes." Lazarus lied; the falsehood tasted bitter, but it was as close he could get to the truth without needing to explain his whole life story.

Hanta sighed, waving his hand as he shook his head. "I expected something a little more dramatic…" Lazarus said nothing as Hanta seemed absorbed in thought, before Hanta snapped his fingers and let loose a big toothy smile. "I have no choice then, we have to make a deal!"

"A deal?" Lazarus felt his eyebrow raise quizzically. Hanta kept smiling.

"You teach me everything you know about English, and as payment, I'll teach you everything you want to know about Japan and Japanese." As Hanta finished, Lazarus was left deep in thought.

"That...doesn't sound like a bad deal." Lazarus spoke, feeling a weight lift off his chest as he couldn't help but smile.

"In fact it sounds like the best goddamn deal I've heard in awhile Hanta!" Hanta sighed as Lazarus spoke.

"Did my dad's honorifics lecture go in one ear and out the other Lazarus?" Lazarus smiled.

"Totally." Lazarus sat down beside Hanta, drumming on the table with his fingers, "Now, let's start English-ing all this!" Lazarus looked at Hanta, who nodded back at him, before quickly getting to work. Lazarus let his gaze linger for a moment, before diving into tutoring Hanta.

* * *

" _You can't keep doing this Lich, I don't care if it's your quirk, it can't be healthy." The masked Girl spoke, her cheap jumpsuit looking relatively untouched compared to how Lazarus felt._

 _Lazarus didn't speak; instead, he looked down at his chest in silent awe, wounds riddling his body, he felt his vision blur. He looked back up at the masked Girl, unable to find the right words to express what he needed to say._

" _What else do you expect me to do? What else can I do?" The words felt harsh coming from his mouth, and a little blood forced its way out of his throat and into his mouth in a violent cough._

" _Why UA?" She asked, Lazarus looked at the smaller Girl and found that he had no ability to respond, not due to a lack of words, but an inability to breath. Lazarus collapsed as he felt the world disappear along with his mind._

* * *

Lazurus awoke, his mind still lingering on the dream. Suddenly, he felt an emptiness in his chest as he realized he could no longer feel his own heart beating. Adrenaline suddenly pumped through his whole body as he shot up, his dream forgotten as he looked around the kitchen, frantically searching until his eyes landed on Hanta. Lazurus watched, fear creeping over him as Hanta held the small metal Cube, Lazurus's Cube, in an outstretched palm.

"What is this thing." Hanta spoke quietly, admiring the pulsing cube in his hand. Lazurus pounced, moving quicker than he ever had before to snatch the cube away from Hanta's hand.

"IT'S MINE!" Lazurus screeched in English, clutching the cube close to his chest, comforted by the sound, and feeling, of his own heartbeat finally returning. Lazurus panted quietly, his compulsion to find his cube finally subsiding. Lazurus looked up to see a terrified Hanta looking down at him, suddenly, Lazurus felt fresh embarrassment crawling onto his cheeks.

"Haha…" Lazurus chuckled, slipping the cube into his back pocket as he took a long, sharp intake of breath, "Uh, where, where did you find that?"

Hanta blinked slowly and shuffled a half-step away from Lazarus, "It feel out of your pocket just a few minuets ago, when you were sleeping." Hanta frowned, "sorry for uh…"

Lazarus quickly responded, thumbing through his English to Japanese booklet as he spoke. "Oh no! Don't worry! My fault, but I just really don't like being separated from it. Haha, wow can't believe I fell asleep last night, say what what are you up to today?" Lazarus internally cringed at his own rushed attempt to change the subject, but thankfully Hanta seemed just as willing to move the conversation away from what had just happened.

Hanta pointed at the door, "I was just going to grab a quick breakfast then do some training, gotta get in shape for UA!" Hanta smiled, causing Lazarus to reel back in surprise.

"Wait, you're going to apply for UA too?" Lazarus shut his mouth when Hanta shot him a glare, "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, I just never thought you'd want to be a hero as well!" Lazarus quickly corrected himself, causing Hanta to smile again.

"Well I do." Hanta laughed, "Just because I don't have a quirk that screams 'put me in spandex' doesn't mean I can't have a dream." Lazarus couldn't help but join him in laughing.

"Mind if I join you?" Lazarus carefully inquired, hoping that he wasn't pushing his luck, "I don't really know any good places to train around here yet." He spoke as he tried to justify himself. Hanta just shrugged.

"Training is always better in pairs, feel free to join." Hanta began walking towards the door, grabbing an Orange on his way out. Lazarus quickly followed behind, stopping in the doorway for only long enough to take a deep satisfied breath, before following Hanta Sero into the brisk early morning.


	2. Quirky in His Own Way

**Author's note:**

 **Welcome to Chapter 1 of Taxes and Taxes! My name is BenchBeYoking, and first off, thank you very much for reading my first little BNHA Fanfiction, there are many like it, but this one is mine. Please leave a review if you like (or dislike) anything you read, I'm still growing and learning as a writer and every comment or criticism is a chance for me to improve. I hope the story can speak for itself, and you all have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Warning: Blood and Mild language follow.**

* * *

Lazarus stood, catching his breath in the early afternoon sun. His nose twitched as the smell of aging oil and rust invaded his nose; However, he knew he couldn't let his guard down, not for a second. Lazarus lowered his centre of gravity and moved forward, watching his feet on the uneven pile of junk below him. Before realizing going slow was pointless as he slid the rest of the way down the slope. Lazarus reached the bottom with a hollow thud as he connected with the discarded hood of a car, the towers of junk obstructed his view on every side. He winced as he heard the sound as it reverberated around the yard, the echo ending any semblance of stealth he had created.

Lazarus flicked his switchblade out.

"Hanta?" Lazarus called out as he spun around, gesturing wildly as he did, watching the light reflect off his blade and dance along the junk that surrounded him. Lazarus knew Hanta wasn't going to pop out and sit down for tea, but he still felt it was worth a shot.

Lazarus stepped behind the rusted shell of an old pickup truck and sunk to the ground, still watching the massive piles of junk all around him for movement. His eyes darted around the arena, he knew Hanta had mobility over him, he needed to be aware that he could attack from any side and any angle at any time. He felt for his cube, still secure in his back pocket as it always was, and he chuckled. His heart was racing.

"What's so funny?" Hanta asked, Lazarus looked up to see Hanta dangling from a long string of tape above him. Lazarus blinked slowly.

"I'm screwed aren't I?" Lazarus said as he sighed.

Hanta smiled widely, saying nothing as he bent his non-gripping arm and hit Lazarus squarely in the chest with tape; Consequently, Lazarus could do nothing but drop his switchblade and groan as Hanta spun him around, entangling him helplessly. When Hanta dropped to the ground and placed his hands on his hips, Lazarus had already accepted his fate as the world's least decorative Christmas present.

"No fair." Lazarus pouted dramatically, squirming in an attempt to escape, "I can't reach you when you scale the terrain like that." Hanta frowned and made a 'I can't hear you' motion, Lazarus swore when he realized he had probably switched back to English, "Sorry!" He spoke, focusing on remaining in Japanese.

"You need some help there?" Hanta asked, walking over and picking up Lazarus's Switchblade. Lazarus nodded slowly as Hanta carefully cut him out of the bonds. Lazarus took a moment to stretch out his arms and crack his neck, "You know," Hanta continued, "I'm starting to think I need a new sparring partner, what's the score now? Twenty-two to zero?" Hanta leaned in, his playfully mocking tone not lost on Lazarus.

"Dude, quit it." Lazarus couldn't keep the bitter defeat out of his voice as he shook himself out, trying to keep his temper cool as he was reminded yet again of how poorly he had performed over the last two weeks since he had started training with Hanta. Hanta however, still seemed to have a few more shots to take at Lazarus.

"Hey, maybe if you actually used your Quirk you might have a chance against me," Hanta laughed as he pointed, "If you keep hiding it, UA might end up thinking you're quirkless-" Lazarus snapped.

"I'm not quirkless!" Lazarus yelled as he slammed his fist down on the hood of the car; However, the brittle hood caved on contact, causing Lazarus's fist to painfully rake against several sharp, rusted edges. Lazarus grunted as he quickly pulled his hand away, several bright red lines on the back of his hand already slowly beginning to leak blood.

Hanta instantly jumped forward. "Lazarus! Are you alright?" Lazarus turned away, taking a deep breath as all the mocking in Hanta's tone was instantly replaced by concern.

"I'm fine. I just need to walk it off." Lazarus began to walk away, as Hanta began to quickly jog to keep pace.

"Walk it off? Come on, let's go back, you might need to get a shot or something." Hanta tried to use reason, but Lazarus had already decided on what he was doing.

"Leave me alone Hanta, I just need to clear my head." Lazarus's tone was sharp and crisp. Hanta froze behind him, clearly unsure of what to do. Lazarus let his shoulders relax, the tension building up in them released somewhat. Lazarus turned back to face Hanta, knowing that he had let his temper get the better of him.

"Sorry," Lazarus began, "I'll be fine. I just need some fresh air." Lazarus turned back around and continued to walk off, not waiting for Hanta to respond.

* * *

" _I thought you had gotten lost." The masked boy quipped as Lazarus burst into the room, his breathing ragged and labored. Lazarus looked at him with a mix between amusement and animosity._

" _You could have told me that the top floor of the meeting spot was up fourteen flights of rickety stairs, you know?" Lazarus panted, holding up a finger to silence the other boy before he could respond, "I could have died, or worse, missed the meeting, then where would you be without your partner and or personal meat shield?" He smiled up at the boy, who simply chuckled and shook his head. Lazarus watched the boy push the blond hair popping out over the top of his mask back into place, the simple old-school horror-flick hockey mask had been painted black and a see-through blue fabric had been placed over the eyes to obscure them._

" _Hey, you still made it in time, so all's well that ends well." The boy turned around and cocked his head towards the door, "Get your mask on Lich, we have some business to attend to."_

 _Lazarus reached behind him, his hand caressed his cube as his fingers passed over it, before he grabbed onto the mask he had hung on his belt. Holding it in his hand, it was identical to the boy's mask, other than the fact that it had red fabric over the eyes instead. Carefully slipping it over his head, he nodded once to the boy. The boy nodded back._

" _Let's go raise some hell." The boy laughed as they both stepped towards the door, before he reached out and placed a hand on Lazarus's chest. The Boy turned to face him, a sudden seriousness in his voice and demeanor._

" _Oh, and try not to use your Quirk this time if you don't have to."_

* * *

Lazarus flexed his injured hand as he rested it in a loose grip. He knew he'd have to go apologize and explain himself to Hanta sooner or later. He hated that he knew for a fact Hanta did nothing wrong, but the knowledge didn't make his volatile feelings any less present in his mind. He took a moment to breathe as his eyes drank in the scenery. The cityscape around him blended together in his mind, the greys and splotches of muted colours and the scents of the city had already become nothing but a dull footnote in the back of his senses.

He stopped completely as he let his mind finally de-stress, he felt like shouting, but he didn't want to cause a scene. Reaching into his back pocket, he took out his cube and held it, the 3' by 3' cube fitting comfortably in his hand as he sat down on the empty sidewalk. He felt the tension in the cube. He loved having the cube and he hated having it at the same time. He couldn't lie to himself, his cube always let him know what he was truly feeling in his heart.

Lazarus began to reflect on what exactly he had done. He had jumped on a plane, left everyone he knew and loved behind to go to a school he knew nothing about in a country he had never been to. He had abandoned his achievable ambitions to go follow some fantasy dream job. He had run, run away from it all. He had just found a place where he had a group of people who accepted him and his quirk and he spat on their years of generosity and kindness by leaving them. He had failed them. He-

Lazarus sudden felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry." Lazarus apologized before Hanta could say a word, turning as he stood to face the concerned face of his...

Lazarus realized he still didn't know how to refer to Hanta, his sparring partner? His acquaintance? Some guy who's destined to work at a BDSM dungeon?

"Hey," Hanta's voice snapped Lazarus out of his thoughts, bringing his attention fully onto Hanta, "Look, I didn't mean to set you off like that, I'm really sorry if I said something that struck a nerve. I guess I need to watch my mouth more, please forgive me Lazarus" Lazarus was caught completely off guard by Hanta's genuine apology.

"Ah," Lazarus nodded, as he tried to buy time to assemble his thoughts coherently, slipping his cube back into his pocket, "That's not your problem." Lazarus cursed his lack of language skills, "I mean, It's my problem, not yours, I've got some issues to work though." Lazarus laughed, but he could tell Hanta wasn't satisfied.

"Lazarus, if you're upset with me, please say something," Lazarus suddenly found the ground incredibly interesting, "You're...I may not know you that well, or, at all past sparring and tutoring, but I consider you a friend. I don't want you to think I think otherwise." Lazarus felt his heart metaphorically drop at Hanta's words.

"Lazarus?" Hanta spoke, Lazarus looked up to meet Hanta's eyes, Lazarus could feel tears pricking at the edges of his eyes.

"Man, why do you have to be so hard to hate? My life would be so much easier if you were just an asshole." Hanta smiled at the playful words. Lazarus wiped away the almost-tears with his non-injured hand. Lazarus pointed down the dimly lit alley beside him, "Come on, we'll cut through here and get home in no time." Lazarus smiled as he began to jog back home. Hanta trying yet again to catch up with his friend. Looking far less sure than Lazarus was about their way back.

"Not to doubt your navigation skills, but…" Hanta looked at each of the looming grey walls on either side of them, "This seems a little bit shady, doesn't it?"

"It's not hot enough out to bother worrying about Shade, Hanta." Lazarus said, causing Hanta to groan.

"I mean, doesn't this just scream 'rob us please!' to you?" Hanta's words caused Lazarus to slow down and really look at the alley, they were about half-way down the long stretch of side-road littered with garbage and banged up garbage bins. While it was still bright enough to see clearly, there didn't seem to be much traffic around either end, causing the Alley to in fact be the perfect place to do something you didn't want people seeing, like a mugging.

"You know. I'm starting to agree with you Hanta." Lazarus admitted.

"I too agree with you all!" A third, distinctly feminine, voice spoke, causing both Lazarus and Hanta to look at each other; consequently, Hanta was wearing a deep set expression of 'I told you so' and Lazarus had on an equally deep 'I was in fact told so.' expression.

Lazarus turned to see a sixteen or seventeen year old girl, in tattered clothes, pop out of a large green garbage bin behind him like some sort of really dirty jack in the box; if a jack in the box had wild black hair and fingernails the size and shape of meat cleavers.

Lazarus turned again when he heard a rustling from the other side, and saw two other girls, both roughly the same age as the first, maybe younger, quite literally emerge from the shadows. The taller girl of the two had raven black hair, as well as pitch black eyes to match, though she was slightly better dressed than the first, though not by much. The shorter one had very long black hair, with both of her hands stuffed into her stained grey hoodie's pockets, the hoodie itself was almost comically too big for her.

"Aw crap!" Hanta groaned as he placed his head in his hands, "I just got this new smartphone too!"

The eyes of Fingernails lit up. "Oh? A new smartphone! That could fetch a pretty penny!" She hopped out of the garbage can and carefully brushed herself off, winking at Hanta, "Thanks sweetie for telling us!"

Lazarus looked at Hanta with a mix of disappointment and sympathy, "They probably would have just asked for our wallets if you didn't say anything." Hanta moaned in anguish again, doomed by his own big mouth, as Lazarus gently patted him on the back.

The taller girl tilted her head and stared directly at Lazarus, "You seem pretty okay with this whole situation."

Lazarus simply shrugged, "Not the first time I've been mugged in an alleyway while walking home." Hanta looked at him in shock.

"And yet you continue to try and take shortcuts home?!" Hanta cried. Lazarus shrugged again.

"I'm an impatent guy, what can I say?" Lazarus's comment left Hanta with little more to do then scream helplessly into his hands.

The shortest girl suddenly stood up on her tip-toes and whispered something into the taller girl's ear. The taller girl nodded and patted the younger girl on the head, before facing Lazarus yet again.

"We want your wallets, your phones, and your metal box." Lazarus felt his breath catch in his chest.

"My, what?" Lazarus tried to clarify, hoping desperately he had misheard.

The taller girl shrugged, a mirrored image of Lazarus's own previously nonchalant behavior, "My little sister saw you holding some kind of pulsing metal box, she wants it." The taller girl's face was completely neutral and incredibly serious, but Lazarus had the sneaking suspicion she wanted to smile, "If you didn't pull it out, we wouldn't have asked for it."

Lazarus had nothing else to say, he gripped his cube with white knuckles, he would never give it up.

As if sensing Lazarus's sudden determination, Fingernails spoke up, "Look, you two seem like nice kids, I'm really sorry, but a girl's gotta feed her family, right?" She took a step towards them, further boxing them in, "Let's just get this over with, no one gets hurt, we all go home, okay sweeties?" Lazarus met her eyes, and he saw no room for mercy in them.

"Hanta." Lazarus spoke, keeping his tone even and as calm as possible, "Take this." Lazarus pulled out his cube and placed it in Hanta's palm, hesitating as he let it go.

"Uh, Lazarus, what are you doing?" Hanta spoke, his voice ever so slightly above an inaudible whisper.

Lazarus stepped in front of Hanta as he cracked his knuckles, a sudden fire igniting in his belly, "Get out of here Hanta, you can scale this building no problem with your quirk. Get yourself and my...box, out of here." All three of the girls, plus Hanta, seemed in equal disbelief at what he was saying.

"What?" Hanta awkwardly held Lazarus's cube at his side as he, as well as the muggers-to-be all seemed to be processing what Lazarus was talking about. Lazarus decided to capitalize on their confusion.

Lazarus turned to face Hanta, his face displaying what he hopped looked like confidence, "Relax Hanta, I'm your friend right?" Hanta nodded, Lazarus tried to stay calm and convincing, "I've got this, trust me, but I need your help, if you don't get that box out of here, I'm in trouble." he paused, and saw the conflicting feelings fighting in Hanta's eyes, "Please."

"...Stay safe, I'll be back in a moment with help." Without another word, Hanta bent his elbow and shot a strand of tape up onto the side of the building, leaping as he pulled himself upwards.

Fingernails snapped out of her trance, moving forward, her cleaver-like-nails swinging for Hanta's tape. Lazarus lept forward as well, grabbing her wrist a moment before her fingers could connect with the tape, bringing his knee up as he smashed it into her diaphragm. He felt her cough violently as he brought his leg down, grabbing at the back of her neck as he swept her feet out from under her, bringing her face-first into the cold hard cement with a satisfying crack.

Lazarus turned his head, watching Hanta reach the top of the building, Hanta looked back down, and Lazarus shot him a thumbs up, which Hanta returned swiftly before disappearing from view. Lazarus let out a breath he didn't know he had held onto. Suddenly, a leg connected with his chest, sending him tumbling backwards. He looked up, his eyes locking onto the tall girl who had already bent down to help her sister up. As the fingernail girl stood, Lazarus realized how truly outnumbered he was. The three girls stood in front of him, he was vaguely aware his hand was bleeding again, and that he could attempt to run, but he had a feeling all he'd get for trying was a cleaver between the shoulder blades.

"This could have been really easy." The tall girl sighed as she pulled out a lead pipe, the smallest girl seemed to step away from the other two and bite her lower lip. Lazarus grinned.

"Heh, I may be outnumbered, but I'm not unarmed." Lazarus reached for his switchblade, his hand wrapping around nothingness in his empty pocket.

Lazarus sudden remembered being cut out of Hanta's tape earlier.

"I may," Lazarus began quietly, "Upon further review have found," He paused to give himself a chance to accept his fate, "To be both outnumbered, and unarmed." Lazarus put his hands on his hip and tapped his foot, "This may be painful."

Fingernails dashed forward, clearly intent on ending the fight quickly and painfully. Lazarus dropped his stance and swore in English as balled his fists up and took a jab at the girl. She ducked underneath the blow and 'scratched' at his midsection, Lazarus stepped back, the front of his shirt instantly being eviscerated from the blow. Suddenly, Lazarus head a faint whistle and felt something smash into the back of his kneecap, painfully knocking him to the ground. He turned around just in time to be smashed in the face by the tall girl with the lead pipe.

Lazarus felt his whole world spin around him, he stumbled back onto his feet only to find that the tall girl had disappeared again and Fingernails was charging towards him. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he realized he was getting pummeled on the defensive.

Without a second thought, Lazarus charged his assailant right back, throwing his weight behind a massive punch. At the last moment, Fingernails flinched, bringing her hands up to guard her face, which Lazarus punched right through, sending the girl sprawling onto the ground

However, Lazarus grimly noticed punching through the razor sharp nails had torn up his already bleeding hand, and his arm was covered in deep crimson lines, bleeding at an almost alarming rate. Shaking his arm out, he scanned the dirty alleyway. He saw the short girl cowering behind a garbage can, and several broken glass bottles below him, grabbing one of the larger shards of glass, he held it tightly in his hand, ignoring the pins and needles as the glass dug into his skin and cut deep into his palm. Lazarus stretched his neck, his head still pounding, as he waited for the tall girl to show her face.

" _Why UA?"_

Lazarus didn't have to wait long, he heard the telltale whistle of the lead pipe and dropped to his knees as it flew harmlessly above his head, he turned and locked eyes with the tall girl who had stepped out of the shadows behind him. Suddenly, he thrusted forward with the shard of glass, aiming just beside the girl's head.

" _Swing as if you mean to kill…"_

Predictably, she overreacted and jerked her head away, dropping her defenses completely. Lazarus felt his numb fingers, still under his control, release the death-grip on the glass shard just enough to flip the point over, returning the grip, the sharp glass point now facing downwards.

" _...and strike to mame."_

He brought the glass shard into the girl's shoulder, she screamed in pain and dropped the pipe instantly, her arm moving to push his hand away. Lazarus twisted the shard as he forced his hand to let go, before closing his already broken hand into a fist and slammed it into the girl's face, instantly knocking her out.

Lazarus stood, his head still ringing, yet adrenaline and success had temporarily substituted clear thinking. He turned to face Fingernail only to see the smallest girl, standing directly in front of him. This close, Lazarus could tell she was far younger than he had assumed, younger than even he was. She had tears in her eyes as she stood on her tiptoes and reached towards Lazarus's face, wearing such an innocent demeanor, Lazarus realized the danger of the situation a moment too late.

"Stop hurting my sisters please." She whispered as she tapped a single finger against his forehead.

Instantly, the world went black.

Lazarus took a step back, suddenly disoriented, he looked around wildly, for all the good it did him. He was blind, utterly lost in a sea of darkness.

Suddenly, he felt something connect with his face and a dull stinging spread through his cheek. Lazarus futilely raised his hands, trying to guard his face; however, a second, harder blow to the stomach robbed him of his air, which forced him to drop his arms to guard his midsection. Dropping his arms cost him another cutting blow to the face.

Lazarus felt sick and tired, and knew if he wanted to get out of here without dying, he'd need to do what he did best; stay on the offensive no matter what.

He rationalized that it most likely wasn't a good plan to have while bleeding, disoriented and blind, but damn it, it was the only plan he had.

Lazarus dropped his arms completely and waited, as he expected, another blow to his face soon followed, knocking him completely onto the ground. He felt a dull pain as someone began kicking his chest repeatedly, and he imagined that his ribs were probably almost breaking with stress.

He took a moment to remember that not being able to feel pain properly sometimes wasn't an advantage. Then another foot hit his chest and he heard a rib literally crack in his chest, and he remembered why not being able to feel pain properly was an advantage sometimes.

Lazarus suddenly reached out, wrapping both his arms around a leg, or what he hoped was a leg, and without wasting a moment, stood, the darkness still impeding his ability to see who or what he was doing, but thankfully not stopping him from doing it.

He wrapped his good arm around the leg, ignoring the unpleasant feeling of being kicked in the chest repeatedly he forced his already mangled hand to form a fist yet again and slammed it down where he thought the leg's owner was with all his might. Lazarus felt a slightly less-than-dull pain as his sensitive fist connected with cold hard pavement, before lifting his fist again and adjusting his aim slightly to the right. This time, feeling the satisfying give of flesh connecting with flesh. He heard Fingernails scream, and made a mental note that it was in fact Fingernails he was currently fighting.

Lazarus continued to pummel Fingernails relentlessly, refusing to acknowledge his growing fatigue and pain. He felt sharp prickles along his arm again and again, and realized that his arm was probably was being torn to shreds by Fingernails. However, he felt the leg in his death grip begin to relax, she probably didn't have much more fight left in her, he'd just have to keep it up for a little longer.

"I said leave her alone!" A voice screamed, and suddenly Lazarus's world was flooded with colour as he could see again. Lazarus stumbled back, having been shoved by the little girl. He looked down at his bruised and beaten midsection, his shirt practically non existent at this point.

"Your quirk works on touch, huh?" Lazarus squirreled that little bit of information away in his mind for a rainy day. Lazarus found his gaze begin to check in on his body. His left arm was bruised heavily, but otherwise fine, his right arm, however, barely resembled an arm at this point, it was more a collection wounds attached to his body. He tried to flex his hand or bend his elbow, and grimly noted that while he could 'feel' it in his mind, the physical limb made no movements to obey him.

Lazarus groaned as he heard groaning behind him, he turned to see the tall girl rise on unsteady feet, already holding her lead pipe again, he turned back to see the little girl helping Fingernails to her feet, though Fingernails still seemed ready to fight.

"Oh...boy, I am going to beat you within an inch of your life." Fingernails spat, a little trickle of blood running down her chin as she gently pushed off her sister and balanced without her support. Suddenly, she smiled, "Or maybe my sister whom you've stopped looking at will do it for me."

Crap.

Lazarus turned, already knowing it was too late to stop the attack, he still raised his working hand to try and shield his skull; However, the blow never came, and as Lazarus dropped his hand, he saw the tall girl hanging a foot off the ground, her pipe and arm wrapped up in a cocoon of tape. Lazarus looked up, ignoring the urge to fall over as his precious supply of blood remaining in his body was forced to rush to his head.

"Lazarus! I couldn't find any help!" Hanta called, his eyes filled with fear as he looked over Lazarus torn body, "I'll get you out of here, then we'll get you to a hospital!"

Suddenly, Lazarus heard feet pounding the pavement behind him, and he threw his body against the wall of the alley, narrowly avoiding Fingernails attack.

"Hanta!" Lazarus called as he avoided another swing, "Switchblade!" Realization dawned in Hanta's eyes as he fumbled around in his pocket.

"Catch!" Hanta called as he threw the red ovular object down towards Lazarus. Lazarus caught it in his left hand and instantly flicked the small blade out, before he used it immediately to parry another one of Fingernails relentless swings.

"Get out of here Hanta!" Lazarus called as he kicked Fingernails, which caused her to stumble back a few feet, "You need to keep yourself safe!"

" _Your partner and or personal meat shield?"_

Hanta bent his elbow and grunted, but no tape came, Lazarus realized that with all the sparing they did earlier, and Hanta's frantic searching to find help, he was probably hitting his quirks upper limit. He turned and found he didn't have the energy to kick Fingernails again, so he simply shoved her away with his shoulder, happy that he couldn't feel anything in his wounded arm anymore as her fingernails dug into his flesh for a moment before he knocked her away.

"Hanta! Trust me!" Lazarus called up, feeling his balance began to fail him, he knew what was happening, he didn't like it, but it was what it was. He pointed with his good arm, "Get out of here! I'll find my own way out!"

Fingernails screamed as she charged him again, tripping over her own feet. Lazarus guessed he wasn't the only one running on empty. "Shut up! Shut up!" She repeated as she swung again and again. Catching Lazarus on his chest twice.

"You're going to kill him!" Hanta screamed, suddenly, as if a switch was flipped, Fingernails took a step away from Lazarus, Lazarus looked up, he could feel each breath he took become more strained. Still, his heart was still warmed at Hanta's concern for his life.

Lazarus forced himself past his limits, keeping both of his feet underneath him as he smiled at Fingernails. "Come on." He baited her, taking a step forward as he held his switchblade out as if it were a mighty blade.

Fingernails looked almost scared for a moment, before her face twisted into determination. "You still want to fight? Fine! Let's end this!" She stepped forward, her nails looking sharper than ever.

Lazarus, meanwhile, suddenly was having trouble staying conscious, he took a step forwards as well, then another, picking up speed as he half-ran half-fell towards Fingernails. He just needed to avoid her attack, he made avoiding her next attack the most important thing he could ever do in his mind, and focused on it as the distance between the two of them closed rapidly.

Lazarus committed, he lunged to the side, planning to avoid her swing at him completely. At the same moment Fingernails, driven by nothing but anger and fatigue, swung wider than normal, and Lazarus was a moment too slow.

" _Oh, and try not to use your Quirk this time if you don't have to."_

Lazarus smashed against the wall with his whole body as he placed his working hand over his throat, feeling the warm liquid gush over and past his hand. The alleyway was completely silent.

Lazarus took his hand away from his fatal wound, accepting that he had miscalculated his attack. He stared at his blood soaked hand for a moment, before he felt his legs buckle underneath him as he fell to his knees. Fingernails eyes were as wide as saucers, her lip quivering in shock and fear as she babbled incoherently to herself. His eyes glanced upwards, Lazarus watched Hanta, who at this distance looked like a blur, as he seemed to be helplessly frozen in place.

Lazarus locked eyes with Fingernails, and he found the energy deep within himself to smile.

"Next time." He spoke in what was most likely terrifying clarity to anyone listening, before he fell onto his chest, his body shutting down. Even though blurred vision, he saw Fingernails fall to her knees, he focused on his hand as numbness spread throughout his limbs. He felt himself breath in, and knew that it was his last breath. He closed his eyes and surrendered to the darkness.

Then, he felt nothing at all.

Then, he began to count.

"One,"

"Two,"

"Three,"

"Four,"

"Five."

Suddenly, Lazarus took a deep breath in, opening his eyelids but still seeing nothing but darkness, yet even then, it was still the sweetest breath he had ever taken, he felt his nerves begin to turn on one at a time, but he couldn't stop the count yet.

"Six, seven, eight, nine, ten."

He felt all his limbs again, he had lips, and he could feel hair growing on top of his head.

"Eleven, twelve…"

Lazarus forced his eyelids shut.

"Thirteen."

Lazarus opened his eyes.

And he was alive again.

He took a moment to calm himself, he felt his heart pounding in his chest, for once, and did a visual check to see that he was all accounted for.

Lazarus looked at his left hand, marveling at his pink newborn flesh, already quickly tanning back to his original pale-ish colour. He let his eyes follow up his arm, pristine and toned as always. Lazarus's red shirt was completely undamaged as he felt down the front for any tears. He did the same check with his black pants, with the same result. Lazarus couldn't help but chuckle, dying was never pleasant, but there was something liberating about his first time coming back after a long uninterrupted life. Lazarus drank in his environment, the sky was a beautiful vibrant blue, the weather was pleasant, and the occasional cloud in the sky turned it into a piece of art. Lazarus was reminded yet again of how much he loved being alive.

"...Lazarus?" A meek voice spoke, causing Lazarus to look over. He saw Hanta, his back pressed against the edge of the roof, his expression a mix of awe, terror and disbelief.

"Oh, hey Hanta." Lazarus replied casually, sticking his hands into his pockets, "Thanks for trying to help, I really owe you one, getting clubbed to death is a super sucky way to go, I really appreciate you sparing me that." Hanta seemed a little broken, simply opening and closing his jaw repeatedly.

"But...but...the box...cube...it…" As Hanta's brain tried to comprehend the situation, Lazarus was reminded of what he needed to do.

"Oh, yeah, right, one second Hanta." Lazarus moved to lift his shirt, then stopped and smiled sheepishly at Hanta. "If uh, you're a little squeamish you might want to look away." Hanta made no move to turn away. Lazarus continued lifting his shirt, revealing the large see-through cube embedded on the left side of his chest, and his still beating heart encased inside. He heard Hanta hurl from somewhere in front of him, but paid him little mind as he wrapped his hands around the edges of the cube and took a deep breath.

"It's like ripping off a band aid." He mumbled to himself as he braced his body for the sudden shock. With a single clean pull and a short grunt, he removed the cube from his chest. His skin quickly crawling across his body to cover the sudden gaping hole, until it looked like there had been no cube in his chest at all. He stared at the see-through cube, mesmerized by his own heart beating, before the cube lost its opaqueness and began shrinking, becoming the dull metal cube it had been before. He tossed it up in the air and caught it, before he slipped it into his back pocket. Lazarus turned to Hanta and smiled knowingly.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I have a lot of answers; However, coming back from the dead works up one hell of an appetite, so how about we grab a bite to eat first?" Lazarus began to jog towards the edge of the roof, but after Hanta made no move to follow him, Lazarus turned back, concern covering his face.

"Hanta? You coming?" Lazarus asked, Hanta didn't reply, his eyes staring off at some unknown horizon beyond Lazarus's comprehension. Lazarus began to get nervous, "You uh, not hungry?"

* * *

Lazarus was seated across from Hanta in the small booth, watching him stare intensely at the salad in front of him, seemingly consumed by his own thoughts. Lazarus looked around the tiny restaurant he had carried Hanta into, he realized Hanta may have been slightly more affected by his almost-death then he had initially assumed.

"So," Lazarus began, placing his hands together while putting a winning smile on his face, "I understand it may have been, as some would say, traumatic, to see me die-" Lazarus focused on the Japanese delivery, knowing fully well he couldn't risk screwing up this conversation.

"I don't think I'll ever sleep again." Hanta muttered, his eyes still locked onto his salad. Lazarus laughed nervously.

"Okay, maybe a little melodramatic there, it wasn't that-" Lazarus tried to steer the conversation back to where he wanted it to go.

"Have you ever seen what happens to you after you die? I mean, how your body comes back?" Hanta cut in, suddenly staring directly, and intensely, at Lazarus. Lazarus shut his mouth and found his throat was incredibly dry.

"Uh- no, I, I don't see how that would be possible for me to-" Lazarus stumbled over his words in an attempt to answer.

"Your quirk is the thing of nightmares. I pray that you never have to witness what I had to." Hanta, seemingly satisfied with what he had said, went back to staring at his salad.

Lazarus opened his mouth, but couldn't find the right words to express what he needed to say. The two of them sat in silence, Lazarus awkwardly shoveling food into his mouth, his appetite fueled by the lack of conversation.

"So," Lazarus spoke, covering his mouth to prevent his mouthful of salad from spilling out of his bulging cheeks, taking a moment to swallow, he continued, "I'm sorry, for worrying you." Silence dominated the table yet again.

Hanta slowly lifted his head, his eyes burning with an emotion Lazarus couldn't place, but it still filled him with the creeping dread that he may be killed a second time before today was over.

"You're sorry? Sorry?!" Hanta's voice slowly began building, a crazed undertone causing Lazarus to push himself further away from the table, "You never thought to mention, 'oh hey Hanta Sero, by the way, don't worry about seeing someone you care about die, it's a temporary thing with me!' at all? It never crossed your mind that might be something to fill me in on?!" Hanta was standing now, leaning across the table and crossing into Lazarus's personal space.

"Aw, you care about me-" Lazarus tried to interject some humor into the situation.

"Shut. Up." Hanta's voice wasn't wild, in fact, it was incredibly controlled, which freaked Lazarus out more than the alternative, "I watched you die, I...I knew you were going to die." Hanta suddenly seemed defeated, as he slid back into his chair and couldn't meet Lazarus's eyes, "I knew you were going to die and I still ran."

Lazarus couldn't stand seeing Hanta like this, "I had to beg to get you to leave me, it's not like you wanted to!" Hanta still refused to look at him.

"I did." Hanta said, confusing Lazarus until he elaborated, "I did want to leave, deep down, when you told me to run, even though I said I didn't want to leave you, a part of me told me that I couldn't do anything, all I could do was get help. So I left you, and I couldn't even find any help." Hanta took a deep shaky breath.

"There are so many things I could have done, I want to be a hero and the second you gave me permission to escape I took it, I could have resisted you, I could have rejected you, I didn't know about your quirk, when I left, I didn't know…" Hanta's tone grew darker and darker as he continued.

"There weren't any heroes on patrol, I didn't know if there were any agencies nearby and the police station was too far away. I panicked and came back, just in time for my quirk to give out on me, just in time to see you, my friend, half-dead, still fighting." Hanta looked Lazarus dead in the eye. "I shouldn't have left you, we could have taken them, you shouldn't have had to..." Hanta swallowed a lump in his throat, "...die." Hanta finished, leaving the word floating in the air.

"I don't like dying." Lazarus spoke, his tone soft as he dropped his pep and humor. He bit his lip as he forced himself to be vulnerable, "It's really unpleasant, you know? No matter how many times I do it, there's something...terrifying about taking a breath and knowing it's your last." Lazarus stood up and walked to the other side of the booth, sitting down beside Hanta.

"It's been, four? Yeah, four months since I last died." Lazarus counted on his fingers to confirm his estimate, flexing his hand, still getting use to it moving at his command again, "Four months is a long time, you can force yourself to forget a lot of trauma with four months of repression, trauma that can reappear with a single event." Lazarus snapped his fingers, "Just like that."

Hanta stared at him silently, listening to Lazarus as he poured his heart out, "I, try and avoid dying painfully regularly, I mean, I don't feel pain like most people, so once I die two or three times in a month, I can adapt to the horrible emotion stress, but once I get a chance to stop dying? I try and take it." Lazarus tapped his fingers on the table, trying to keep his mind from drifting off topic, "I've died forty-seven times since I first learned of my quirk when I was four." Lazarus let out a sad chuckle when he heard Hanta gasp beside him.

"forty...seven?" Hanta spoke, disbelief and pity both evident in his voice. Lazarus felt tears well in his eyes, but he wiped them away before they could fully form.

"I mean, forty of them were in the last two years, but yeah, I can't wait until a break the big five-o." Lazarus's voice cracked slightly, but he fought to keep it under his control, he felt Hanta put an unsure hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to die." Lazarus finally admitted, "I knew if I said anything, and those girls heard me, they'd have stopped trying to simply beat me within an inch of my life; and they would have slaughtered me. It wouldn't have even been a fight." Lazarus shrugged, "I'm a good fighter, but three on one? The only thing that kept me alive for so long was the fact that they were pulling their punches, they didn't have murderous intent."

Lazarus sat up, closing his eyes and he focused on his breathing, choking back a sob or two as he forced his emotions to remain within his control, "And as you saw, without my heart I can't regenerate, so I needed you to get my heart out of there, if they had my heart, I mean, I could die, like, really die, for real." Lazarus tried to focus on making sure Hanta knew he didn't blame him, none of this was Hanta's fault.

"I… it was never my intention, to, that is, to scare you, I mean, I was scared, and I tried, god I tried not to, but adrenaline was pumping…" Lazarus could feel his thoughts fragmenting and his face turning red and hot.

"Hey," Hanta's voice snapped Lazarus out of his spiral of despair. Lazarus met Hanta's eyes, and saw forgiveness within them, "We're both alive now, aren't we? You saved my life."

Lazarus smiled, "and you saved mine, I think we're even." The two of them laughed, a genuine release of tension between the two of them.

Lazarus felt his muscles relax, he smiled at Hanta, who smiled back. He felt something new between them, something that wasn't there before, but he couldn't find the words in either language he knew to describe it.

Suddenly, he felt compelled to grab Hanta and hug him, and Lazarus wasn't the kind of guy who ignored his impulses. In a moment, he had Hanta in a death-grip bear hug. Hanta tensed for a moment at the sudden contact, before wrapping his own arms around Lazarus.

"You're a great brother." Lazarus spoke, his emotions finally released, before his mind replayed what he had just said.

"What?" Hanta spoke, the emotional spark of the moment suddenly absent.

Lazarus wondered to himself if he would ever learn his lesson about not screwing up a good thing as soon as he encountered it.

Lazarus pushed himself off Hanta and threw his hands up in surrender. "Sorry! I meant friend! I was going to say friend and then brother came out! Blame the language barrier!" All the red hot emotions that he had just dealt with quickly settled back into an anxious ball in his chest.

Hanta stared at Lazarus silently, before he smiled softly. "You know, I've always wanted a brother…"

Lazarus stared back, his expression slowly mirroring Hanta's. For the first time, the silence that descended over them was comfortable, and Lazarus felt no need to interrupt it.

"Hey are you going to finish that salad?" Lazarus asked, his growling stomach reminding him he had pressing physical needs to attend to.

Hanta laughed and shoved him, "Oh come on! You totally ruined the moment!" Lazarus laughed as Hanta pushed the plate in front of Lazarus, whom instantly began to devour it.

"Hey!" Lazarus spoke through mouthfuls of salad, "You try coming back from the dead and then pretend not to be starving." Lazarus noticed Hanta flinch slightly.

"Too soon?" Lazarus questioned, putting down his fork for a moment.

"It's still a little tender, yeah." Hanta slowly responded, Lazarus nodded.

"No dead jokes, got it. I'll try and stay on the mortal coil." Lazarus said, twirling his fork in his hand as he went back to eating his salad.

Hanta suddenly stopped, a look of confusion passing over his face. "Wait, what happened to your dead body?"

Lazarus looked up and shrugged, "I don't know, it disappears? I've never encountered my own corpse before, so I just kinda figured it turns to dust or something." Hanta still seemed to have more questions, Lazarus gestured for him to continue.

Hanta pointed at Lazarus's shirt, "And your clothes, why do they return with you? Shouldn't they, you know, not?" Lazarus smiled.

"Good question, short answer is, I have no clue why I don't end up in the nude when I return from the dead. Long answer, whatever I'm wearing at midnight is what I return in for the next twenty-four hours. I learned that the hard way after I started wearing pajamas to bed." Lazarus finished the salad and pushed the plate away from him.

Hanta seemed to have one last question, "If you hate dying so much, why do you want to be a hero?" Lazarus stopped.

"Has anyone told you how good you are at asking questions?" Lazarus smiled widely.

"Has anyone ever told you how bad you are at avoiding questions?" Hanta replied back with the same gusto. Lazarus sighed, accepting defeat.

"Because the only thing I hate more then dying and coming back," Lazarus looked out the storefront window across the restaurant, his eyes darting from face to face in the crowd, "Is watching other people not come back." Lazarus felt his fists clench.

"I've experienced the fear of death time and time again, and I have seen it in the eyes of others, and I know everything they are thinking. The knowledge that you are about to die is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." Lazarus felt his resolution echo in his head, his destiny, his fate, the future he had risked everything to achieve.

Lazarus turned to Hanta, standing up from the booth as he felt a fire ignite in his soul. "My name is Lazarus Poe, The Lich, and I will become a hero; even if it kills me."


	3. Legal Death

**Scene: BenchBeYoking's house**

 **Time: Just after publishing chapter 1 last week.**

 **BBY: Wow! Such a positive reception! People are actually enjoying this! Who would have guessed it, seriously, I thought this was going to fail horribly!**

 **BBY: Oh wow, I better try and get chapter 2 out quick! Oh, but I don't want to rush things...I know! I'll publish a funny little chapter 1.5, it'll just be a joke about Lazarus doing something not plot related to cleanse the pallet and get my creative juces flowing, it'll be what? 2,000 words? Eh, that's a little short, let's go for 3,000 tops!**

 ***One week passes.***

 **BBY: Okay! Wow! That took a little longer to get done then I thought, the ideas just kept coming for this side chapter, and OH GOD IT'S BEEN A WEEK, I'VE NOT POSTED OR RESPONDED TO ANYONE AND ALL I HAVE IS THE EQUIVALENT OF A FILLER EPISODE OH FUUUUGE BARS-"**

 **...**

 **So yeah, hi everyone! It's me! BenchBeYolking, I'm so sorry for not having a chapter 3, but uh, here's chapter 1.5! I've planned X.5 chapters to be little bits of side information, flashbacks/backstories or just ideas that don't fit into the main plot. It's all canonical of course, but I hope to structure them in a way where the main story can be enjoyed without them, meaning I don't have to worry about moving the plot forward and can just write whatever-the-hell I want. I hope you enjoy just as much as the last few chapters, I've tried to really flesh Lazarus out, but as always, I'll let the chapter do the talking.**

 **Oh, and thank you to everyone who favored the story and left a review, I appreciate you wanting to read more and taking the time to tell me what you think, I'll work extra hard to live up to the expectations!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Lazarus Poe stormed down the stairs, a bagel in one hand and his cell phone in the other. Dramatically bursting into the kitchen, grinding his teeth as he held up a single finger to silence Hanta before he could speak.

"What do you mean, you have to reject my costume design?" Lazarus spoke slowly, forcibly enunciating into each word while his leg shook. He lifted it up into the air to be slammed down, and then gently lowered it, "I submitted it, like you requested, months ago when I finalized my application, I don't have time to redesign my costume." Lazarus put an open palm to his forehead as he spoke, resisting the urge to yell.

"Sir," The seemingly uncaring voice of the customer service man droned, "upon further review of your design, we found several features of your costume that if included would have been a danger to your person." Lazarus groaned.

"You don't- yes, that was the point. My costume was designed, please listen this is the important part; To. Kill. Me." Lazarus felt a vain nearly burst as he had to explain the situation, again. Hanta looked up from his breakfast with a quizzical eye, Lazarus looked back and shrugged, waving his bagel-carrying hand to communicate that the call wasn't something to worry about.

"Sir? You want us to make an outfit, that will kill you?" The man half-repeated, half-questioned. Lazarus took a deep breath and smiled.

"Finally, some progress, yes I need you to design a mechanism in the costume that would, ya know, off me quickly." Lazarus took a bite out of his plain buttered bagel and continued, trying not to spill crumbs on the floor, "mhm, now, it doesn't have to be complex, the poison compound I recommended would be nice and painless." Lazarus finished his bagel, licking his fingers clean of butter.

"Mhm, that really hit the spot. Sorry, where was I? Right, but honestly, if you just gotta put a steel wire on a rip-cord in there and lop my head off like a thin-cut slice of bavarian meatloaf I'm sure I can make do." Lazarus reached over to grab a drink of Hanta's orange juice, Hanta quickly swatted the intruding hand away. Lazarus pretended to look hurt for a moment, then rolled his eyes and focused his attention back on the silent customer service representative.

"Well, sir, uh, this isn't really my area of expertise. If you're willing to hold I'm sure I can connect you to someone-" Lazarus's nostrils flared at the man's words.

"No! You've tossed me around like a goddamn hot potato enough already, I've had this exact same conversation four times!" Lazarus felt the man on the other end recoil, pressing his advantage, he continued, "Look, this isn't your fault; I get that you're just doing your job. But it would really help me out, if you would just tell me why this whole thing has to be so needlessly complicated." Lazarus tried to keep his voice calm, but he couldn't help but inject a bit of venom and the end of the sentence.

The man on the other end paused, then spoke, "Look, kid, I'll level with you. You are never going to get approval for this costume as it stands." Before Lazarus could even ask, the man explained, "You don't have a quirk."

Lazarus blinked,his mind blanking as he tried to formulate a reply, "I'm pretty sure you're wrong about that."

The man sighed on the other line, "as far as our legal department is concerned kid, it doesn't matter what you or I have to say about it. According to the government Quirk Registers office, your quirk doesn't exist." Lazarus paused as he tried to process this new information.

Clearly noticing Lazarus had nothing to say, the man continued, "If you were a local, I'd give you a number to call and we could be done in ten minutes, if you had an American equivalent of a Quirk Registry, I could give you two numbers and you could call me back in an hour." The man paused again, "but you are an non-local with no former record of having a quirk, especially not one that could justify any kind of built in, as you put it in yourself in the design, 'self-decapitation' features. Surprisingly, our insurance tells us that if our products kill our customers; we can't really call it a feature." Lazarus bit his lip and coughed, he knew the man had a point.

"So, what can I do? There's gotta be something I can do? I have to get this mess cleared up!" Lazarus panic slowly turned inward as he spoke, he admired to himself he was desperate for any solution, no matter how far-fetched.

"There is one option…" the man on the other end spoke, perhaps more to himself then to Lazarus, but Lazarus wasn't going to miss any chance to set this right.

"What? What option!" Lazarus struggled not to scream into the phone, his anxiety urging him to action.

"You could try and go down to the Quirk Registry branch in Hosu city yourself, they'd be able to get you registered. A word of warning though, like any government facility, you better get ready to be buried in red tape-" Lazarus cut the man off joyfully.

"I already get wrapped in tape everyday, I'm sure I'll be fine. Thank you so much sir, have a good day!" Lazarus cheerily replied before hanging up his phone and walking towards his satchel bag. Lazarus noticed Hanta clearly had something to say.

"What's the big rush?" Hanta questioned, clearly taking note of Lazarus's erratic behavior.

"Need to go get permission from the government to lop my own head off." Lazarus summarized bluntly.

"Try to call if you're going to miss dinner." Hanta said back, looking down at his own breakfast. Lazarus nodded, double checking hastily that he had everything he needed still in his bag, satisfied that he hadn't missed anything, he waved to Hanta as he opened the door.

"Love you! Bye!" Lazarus called instinctively as he ran out to the front yard.

Lazarus paused for a moment as he realized what he had said, but shrugged, "...well, I guess we can all do with being told we're loved more often." He spoke to himself as he bolted down the street, towards the train.

* * *

Lazarus gazed up at the Quirk Registers Office; to call it massive would be an understatement. The building towered over the street below it, reaching up to the sky itself, covered in glass, casting brilliant dancing beams of light onto the ground and perfectly trimmed greenery. The street was impeccably clean with a single oak bench outside, basking underneath a tree which provided perfect shade. It was beautiful, it was awe inspiring.

"It's too perfect, too artificial." Lazarus muttered, not allowing himself to be swept away by the manufactured feelings the building was as he saw it trying to construct within him, he couldn't stand the dishonesty.

"Ah, I couldn't agree with you more." A woman replied, startling Lazarus out of his thoughts, he glanced over to her, not having noticed her before.

She had white hair, though she wasn't too old, probably just recently in her thirties. She was crouched behind the bench, with a half-eaten sandwich in her hands, all four of them. She had a tired, warm smile on her face, the kind of smile that said to Lazarus that she was a nice person, but was also clearly hiding from her responsibilities.

"It's all crap," She spoke between bites of sandwich, occasionally letting go with one or two hands to gesture, "If they put half the effort into having actual working infrastructure inside, instead of making the place to look like a postcard, people might actually use the building at times other than when they're utterly desperate," She finished off her sandwich, then smiled widely, "So you're one of the utterly desperate, huh?"

Lazarus grinned, then chuckled, "That obvious?"

The woman shook her head and put two hands on her hips, her second pair of arms melding back in with her shoulders, "I'd hate to say it, but you're going to get more done sitting out here with me then trying to brave the legal torture. If you're willing to wait, I'm sure I could give you-" Lazarus shook his head premtively.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I've gotta get this done as soon as possible, I've got no time to wait around." Lazarus began to walk towards the entryway, noticing her shrug slightly as he walked by.

"Hey, your funeral kid, I'll be out here when you give up!" She smiled as she sunk back behind the bench, disappearing from view. Lazarus smiled as he walked towards the door, opening it with a single grand swing of his arm, before stepping into the offices.

Lazarus immediately felt out of place, he knew on instinct this wasn't a place for people like him, everyone had this aura about them, they carried themselves differently, like every step they took shook the very core of the country itself, he recognized it as the kind of arrogance that only government officials could carry themselves with. Lazarus puffed out his chest and bravely pressed forward, careful not to impede the path of anyone crossing his way, as they seemed to make no effort to stay out of his. Lazarus let his eyes roam around the lobby room, the space was massive, mostly being bare hardwood floor, but with the occasional bit of carpet holding couches that appeared as if they had never been sat in. The aroma of the entire office was hard to place, it smelled of disinfectant, death and overpriced coffee. Lazarus took note of the wide ceiling, clearly there for accessibility more than aesthetics; the long hallways leading to the back, with office doors lining each side; and the two massive staircases leading to the upper floors of the building.

Lazarus, who admitted to himself he felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stimulus hitting his senses at once, managed to make it to the first open door he could find, a tiny office with the number zero on the door. Craving escape from the orderly chaos outside, Lazarus threw himself inside and closed the door behind him. He put his head against the door and took a few deep breaths, his pounding heart in his back pocket reminding him how much he hated crowds.

 _"...If you're willing to wait, I'm sure I could give you-"_

Lazarus gritted his teeth and pushed the woman's kindly offer from his mind, he needed to get this done his way, quickly.

"If you're going to try anything I can have security here in four seconds." A voice piped up behind him, Lazarus turned in shock, his eyes drawn to the desk at the back corner of the spotless office, and a young lady with black hair and brown eyes, not even looking at him, as she spoke.

Lazarus immediately backpedaled, "Oh! Oh nononono, I didn't close the door for any suspicious reasons, I just needed to get away from the, you know, out there." Lazarus pointed towards the door, smiling half-heartedly.

The lady didn't respond to him, she had already gone back to her work. Lazarus coughed, which got him no response, before he continued.

"So, uh, I hope I'm not bothering you-" Lazarus tried to keep his voice cheerful despite the non-existent reaction he was getting.

"You are, I'm trying to read my email." She crisply replied, driving a (metaphorical) icicle though Lazarus's heart, defeating him instantly.

"Ah, well, I am sorry about that. I'll, not take any more of your time." Lazarus spoke, dejection covering his voice. The lady made no unusual moves, so Lazarus just pointed at the door.

"I'll see myself out, thank you very much for your time." Lazarus opened the door, wincing as the scent and noise from outside hit him again, he turned one last time, trying to smile, "Good luck with whatever you're working on!" However, before Lazarus could leave, he heard a tired sigh behind him.

"By All-Might's good graces, what are you? An abandoned puppy? Get back over here." The lady had stood up from her desk, yet her tone was no more energetic than before, yet she was waving him back over. Lazarus saw his chance, quickly closing the door behind him and bounding over to her.

The lady rubbed her temples, sighing, "Okay, let's start over, hi, I'm Chiba, what can I help you with today."

Lazarus practically lept over the desk in joy, "Hello! I'm Lazarus, I'm trying to get registered with the Registry! Oh, where are my manners, it's a pleasure to meet you Chiba!" Lazarus thrusted out his hand for a shake, to which Chiba looked down at passively, before looking up at his eyes.

"So you're a foreigner?" She spoke, catching Lazarus completely off guard, until he reevaluated his behavior.

Lazarus slowly retracted his hand, turning his outstretched hand into a finger gun and clicking his tongue as he laughed nervously, "That obvious, Chiba…-uh, wait, don't tell me…-sama?" Her completely apathetic gaze slowly chipping away at Lazarus's foolhardy confidence.

"Okay, well, Lazarus-kun, I'll try and set you on the right path." She spoke with that same bored tone as she leaned over her desk, hitting a few keys on her computer, "The form you need to fill out is the Q-0, which I can give you-" She begun, opening a drawer on her desk.

"Awesome!" Lazarus replied, already reaching out to receive the form. Instead, Chiba handed him a post-it note.

"...as I was saying, I can give it to you after you get the R-58. Go to that office to pick it up." Chiba finished, sitting back down and going back to her work. Lazarus stood quietly for a moment.

"Was there something else you needed?" Chiba spoke, sounding no differently than the first time he had walked in.

"No! Thank you! Have a good day!" Lazarus walked backwards towards the door, bowing once for good measure as he turned and threw open the door.

"Hey," Chiba spoke yet again, Lazarus turned to look at her, her passive eyes staring right at him, "Good luck." Lazarus smiled, and without another word, slipped out the door.

Instantly, Lazarus remembered why he was so desperate to get out of the lobby the first time, somehow, it had seemingly gotten busier and louder already. Lazarus tried to find a clear path to the other hallway, where the note said to go, but every square foot of the lobby seemed to be holding a human body. Lazarus wiggled his shoulders, before dropping one of them and raising his body onto the balls of his feet. Without another moment to think, Lazarus pushed himself into the swarming mass of bodies. He kept his gaze forward as he felt himself be jostled around, but his lack of sensitive nerves led him to be unaware if he was actually bumping into anyone. Lazarus felt his momentum halt as a massive hand was placed on his shoulder, Lazarus swore quietly as he turned around, coming face-to-chest with a mountain of a man.

"We have a no shoving policy here, sir." Mountain spoke, he was easily taller than seven feet, his voice carried such base that Lazarus swore he was receiving a decree from god, "I suggest you step outside for a breath of air, sir." Mountain asked politely, Lazarus appreciated to courtesy.

"Well, I've received my warning, and I can promise I won't shove any more-" Lazarus stopped as he felt himself being picked up by his collar, being raised to the irritated face of the man, "Ah, I see, not actually a request."

* * *

Lazarus hit the cold hard ground outside the building, "Please wait until you can follow the rules before coming back, sir." Mountain spoke as he slammed the door shut behind Lazarus. Lazarus laid there passively for a moment, simply observing the occasional uncaring person who stepped around his prone body to enter the office, clearly absorbed in their own problems.

"I told you so kid." A smug voice spoke, Lazarus followed it to it's source, seeing the same white haired woman smiling from behind the bench. Lazarus felt his temper flair, but quickly cooled it.

"Don't you have, you know, a job here?" Lazarus questioned, standing as he brushed himself off, she chuckled.

"Shouldn't you ask my name before you start trying to figure out what my job title is?" She grinned cockily, causing Lazarus to both have to cool his temper again, and admit he had really forgotten his manners today.

"I apologize," He spoke, alreading forcing his positive energy to bounce back, "I'm Lazarus, just Lazarus, you are?" He smiled as he forced his hands to interlock behind his back, preventing him from going for the handshake.

She smiled warmly, standing up from behind the bench, growing a second pair of arms to dust off her grey business suit, "I'm Aiko Aimi, It's a pleasure to meet you Lazarus-kun." Lazarus nodded, suddenly blanking on the correct honorific for a girl.

"The pleasure is all mine, uh, Aimi-Chan." Lazarus said with non-existent confidence in his choice.

Aiko paused, her face blank, before she began laughing uncontrollably. Dashing Lazarus's hope instantly.

"Uh, is it not Aimi-Chan?" Lazarus asked, already sure of the answer. Aiko wiped a stray tear from her eye as her laughter subsided.

"You are- actually, it's been far too long since anyone called me anything-Chan!" Aiko almost seemed to devolve into a giggling fit, before she relaxed and leaned over the bench.

"My offer still stands, I'm sure I can-" Lazarus put a hand up to stop her.

"Thanks, but I'm still going to have to take a raincheck, I can do this on my own." Lazarus found there was a little more force in the rejection then he had intended, but the meaning was the same either way. Aiko shrugged and smiled coyly.

"Good luck Lazarus-kun, you'll still need it!" She cryptically advised as she sunk back down into the unknown abyss behind the oak bench.

Lazarus straightened himself, brushed himself off again, and walked back through the massive doorway.

* * *

This time, Lazarus had a plan. As he entered, he did a quick scan from left to right, immediately seeing the Mountain, who had already clearly locked his eyes onto Lazarus.

"Thank you so much for escorting me outside Mountain-san, I'm perfectly good now, you won't get anymore shoving from me!" Lazarus smiled forcefully as he attempted to sound assuring.

"You're welcome. Also, my name isn't Mountain." Mountain replied, Lazarus nodded sagely.

"Then what should I call you?" Lazarus asked Mountain, already knowing that regardless of the response, the man would forever be Mountain inside Lazarus's heart.

"You seem rather attached to the name Mountain, so if you are unlucky enough to have to encounter me again, you may use that name if you see fit." Mountain spoke, surprising Lazarus.

"Oh, okay, well, I'm off to pick up some forms." Lazarus pursed his lips as he briskly walked away.

"No running in the halls, sir." Mountain immediately warned him, causing Lazarus to begin slowly strolling away instead.

This time, as Lazarus reached the crowd, he waited for someone who looked suitably important to walk by. After a moment a chubby man, with a button up shirt and a cell phone in each hand, walked by. Lazarus quickly stepped behind him, and shadowed his every footstep, riding the wake behind the man as he danced his way through the crowd he had clearly maneuvered many times before. Lazarus felt incredibly proud of himself as he effortlessly crossed the lobby, stepping out behind the man at the edge of the crowd, perfectly positioned near the hallway.

"Heh, who said I needed help." Lazarus chuckled as he knocked politely on the door.

"Come in." An irritated, but somehow familiar, voice spoke. Lazarus hesitated, then opened the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. The office was a mess, papers littered the floor and were covered aggressively with push pins on the wall. Perhaps most surprisingly, Chiba sat behind the computer, furiously attacking the keyboard as she typed.

"Oh, hello Chiba-sama, if you also worked in this office, why didn't you just give me the form before?" Lazarus half-joked as he took a few steps towards her desk, Chiba looked up and Lazarus froze, her gaze had the intent to kill behind it.

"One, how the hell do you know my name; two, why the hell are you calling me sama; and three, what the hell do you want?" Chiba spat at him, causing Lazarus to take a defensive step backwards.

"Uh- well, didn't I just-" Lazarus stuttered, wilting under her death-glare, "I need a R-58 form? I guess I was talking to your twin sister." Lazarus smiled, causing the Chiba-lookalike to huff.

"I don't have any sisters, and I'm not the person to see for your R-58. I can give you a Q-23; which will let you gain access to the IDNRQ-100. The IDNRQ-100, also know as the Inquiry into Danger of Non-Registered Quirks, will let you request a R-1, which once you sign, then you can get an R-58. Any other questions, stupid?" She snarled at him, causing Lazarus to fearfully shake his head, why did people have to be so much more scary than death itself?

The Chiba-lookalike un-stabbed a yellow piece of paper from the corkboard beside her desk, covering a very beaten up motivational poster.

"Mew can do it?" Lazarus read aloud, causing the Chiba-lookalike to growl.

"Shut up, I don't judge what keeps you from getting through the day without kill yourself." The Chiba-lookalike leaned across the desk, enunciating each word heavily, Lazarus stared back blankly at her.

"Actually these forms are the only thing keeping me from getting through the day without killing myself." Lazarus answered honestly, causing the Chiba-lookalike to be taken aback.

"Wow, you must have a really sad life," She commented, her venom being reduced to only a little bit of bitterness, she pointed towards the door, handing Lazarus the yellow paper.

"Office down the hall on the other side, fourth one from the right, you can't miss it, get out." Without another word, she silently got back to her work, leaving Lazarus to scurry to the door and leave, already dreading crossing the lobby again.

* * *

Lazarus opened the door and stepped inside, fatigued from crossing the sea of people in the lobby. The office was covered wall-to-wall in motivational posters and hand-drawn art, another Chiba-lookalike was humming happily behind the desk. When she noticed Lazarus was there, she stood up and without saying a word, grabbed a green sheet from her desk and held it out to him.

Lazarus swiftly walked over to the desk and grabbed the IDNRQ-100. He waved nervously and walked backwards towards the door. She waved back and sat down, continuing to type away. Lazarus opened the door, and left without any further fanfare.

Lazarus half-opened, half-fell through the doorway, placing his hands on his knees for support as he took a couple deep breaths before looking around. This Chiba-lookalike was currently not working, instead, she was longingly staring at a framed photo on her desk.

"Have you ever been in love?" She asked, causing Lazarus to nearly leave the room without collecting what he needed.

"I need an...uh...R-1?" Lazarus slowly asked, unsure about this entire situation, he would have much rather she have been passive or angry, this was scaring him a hell of alot more than the previous three Chibas.

"Sure." She said, a wistful sigh escaping her lips as she put down the photo, which appeared to be of her and a cat, and lifted up a massive stack of papers, "This is your R-1 package. Once you fill it out, go get your R-58." Lazarus groaned.

"Hey," She said quietly, placing a gentle hand on his arm, "It's okay, I'm here for you. I love-"

"Nope." Lazarus said, scooping the pile of papers off the desk and quickly moving towards the doorway, stopping only for a moment to turn and look back at her, "Nope." Lazarus confirmed as he backed out the doorway and down the hall.

* * *

Lazarus collapsed into the tiny office, his body pushed it its mortal limits as he dragged himself on his hands and knees towards the now familiar desk at the other side of the room, as he clawed himself up into a standing position, looking at the irritated eyes of Chiba.

"Wrong goddamn office, stupid." Chiba spoke, quickly returning to her work, muttering under her breath as she did.

Lazarus slowly turned himself around leaning on the desk for support, before laying a gentle hand on the wall for guidance as he took his walk of shame out of the office. Near the doorway, Lazarus began to quietly sob.

* * *

Lazarus sat down next to Mountain, who had no reaction to the puffy-eyed boy sprawled across the edge of the lobby.

"Can I help you sir?" Mountain asked, with a tone that said he was contractually obligated to say that.

Lazarus said nothing at first, he simply followed the mountains gaze across the sea of people.

"...Death is hardly more bitter." Lazarus quoted, catching the larger man off guard.

"I've heard that before, is it from a TV show? A hero's talk?" Mountain asked, trying to place the comment.

"Dante's Inferno." Lazarus corrected him, physically feeling the resulting confusion from the other man, "I'm reasonably sure this place is one of the levels of hell described within the poem." Lazarus explained.

"You don't seem the type…" Mountain began, then hesitated, Lazarus looked at him and shrugged.

"What? Stupid people can enjoy poetry too you know." Lazarus casual spoke, moving into a cross legged position, "I try to be reasonably well versed in work relating to death and the afterlife."

Mountain seemed to be unsure of where the conversation was going, "Can I help you, for real." Lazarus noted how much more genuine those two extra words made the sentiment.

"I need some fresh air and I have no more energy to cross the lobby." Lazarus pointed at the door, "would you mind escorting me away?"

Mountain nodded, then smiled, it was a toothy smile, the kind that on a less massive body would have been disarming and friendly, "Sure, sir, I'd be more then willing." As Mountain spoke, Lazarus lifted his arms.

"I have no energy left in my legs, would you mind just tossing my limp body out there?" Lazarus asked as politely as he could, causing the man to raise a quizzical eyebrow.

"Really?" Mountain inquired. Lazarus starred back.

"The mind is strong but the flesh is weak." Lazarus said in the most matter of fact tone he could muster. Mountain chucked.

"And that is from..?" Mountain questioned, clearly humoured.

"Oh god I don't know, I'm not that smart. I've just heard it a couple times before." Lazarus smiled as Mountain grabbed him under the arms, "I owe you one!" Lazarus laughed as he was dragged across the lobby.

* * *

Lazarus laid on the ground outside the building, silently biding his time as he rolled himself down the stairs and dragged himself onto the bench.

"So...my offer still stands-" Aiko spoke quietly as she rose up from behind the bench.

"No." Lazarus growled, ending the conversation as Aiko sunk back behind the bench.

* * *

Lazarus burst into the office, holding every form he had, all signed, ready to be presented. Chiba looked up at him, clearly expecting him at this point.

"You here for the R-58?" Chiba asked, beating him to the punch.

Lazarus nodded as he put his stack of papers on the desk. Chiba browsed through them for a moment before she looked back up.

"Where's your Q-0?" Chiba asked, clearly unimpressed. Lazarus froze.

"Uh, I don't have it yet?" Lazarus replied, suddenly unsure what was going on.

"I can't give you your R-58 till you get your Q-0." Chiba quickly went back to her work.

"No." Lazarus said sharply, drawing Chiba's attention back to him, "I was told, by one of your damn twins-" Lazarus began, his voice shaking with barely contained rage.

"I don't have any twin-" Chiba moved to cut him off, but Lazarus quieted her with a glare.

"I was told this morning, that without my R-58, I can't get my Q-0, now you are telling me without my Q-0, I can't get my R-58. Someone is lying to me." Lazarus leaned across the desk, catching Chiba off guard.

Before Lazarus could do something he would regret, the door opened, and Chiba walked in. Lazarus's eyes darted between the two.

"Hahah!" Lazarus laughed, "I knew it! I KNEW IT! I'm NOT CRAZY!" Before Lazarus could say another word, the Chiba from the door walked over to the Chiba by the desk and tapped her on the forehead, instantly, the Chiba from the desk vanished.

"Hello Lazarus." Chiba said, sounding exhausted as she sat behind the desk, quickly speaking before Lazarus could, "I can fragment my emotions into separate personalities and bodies, but it leaves me tired, and a literal emotional shell of my former self." Lazarus slowly nodded, feeling embarrassed that he hadn't considered a quirk was behind it.

"So...do I need my Q-0 first or my R-58?" Lazarus hesitantly asked, Chiba shrugged.

"Turns out you need your Q-0 first, you interrupted me when I was reading my emails, it's a new change they just implemented this morning." Chiba opened a drawer and pulled out a bagged lunch, aggressively biting into an apple, "Sorry, but uh, I can get you your Q-0 and R-58, even though I'm on break." Lazarus took a deep breath of relief.

"Then I'm all registered with my quirk?" Lazarus's mood turned as he spoke, with Chiba slowly frowning at his words.

"No, now, now you get in line."

* * *

Lazarus stood, his legs numb from standing as he shuffled forward another person length down the massive line. He looked behind him, where no one was standing, then in front of him, where the line seemed to stretch on forever.

"I can't believe we have to get some old dude to sign on our Q-0's before we can get authenticated, why the hell is that necessary!" Lazarus complained to the person in front of him, a young businessman who shrugged uncomfortably.

"That's just the way it is, kid." The man said, clearly accepting the situation at face value.

Lazarus grimaced, "That's never a good reason for anything, tradition is meant to be killed; out with the old, in with the new." Lazarus noted if the man wasn't slightly uncomfortable before, he was now very uncomfortable as he turned back around and purposefully ignored Lazarus.

Lazarus shuffled forwards again, as he waited.

* * *

"Yep, that's how I got this job." Mountain finished as he stood beside Lazarus, finishing up the short story. Lazarus nodded, feeling a little upset the story hadn't distracted him for longer.

"Any other good ones?" Lazarus said as he shuffled forwards a little more, a little closer to his unreachable goal. Mountain stood silently for a moment.

"Nope, good luck kid." Mountain spoke as he turned and briskly retreated down the stairs to the lower levels of the building, Lazarus sighed.

* * *

Lazarus felt like crying as he finally saw it, the door at the end of his journey, he looked down the line, there were only four more people in front of him, he glanced behind him, at the other people boredly staring at their feet, or the wall, or anything but the line in front of them.

Suddenly, Lazarus felt someone bump into his side; however, before he could turn to apologize, a young man had stuffed himself in front of Lazarus. Lazarus's good mood instantly vanished.

"Hey! You!" Lazarus barked, he felt his eyes burn with rage as the man nonchalantly turned around, his greasy hair and unshaven scruff giving him the appearance that he had just rolled out of bed.

"I've been here, right, for two hours, you, you got here two minutes ago, so, why don't you go, to the goddamn, back of the line." Lazarus felt his anger bubble to the surface, his impatience mixing with his volatile emotions in a way that he knew would not end well.

"What'cu gonna do about it." The greasy man replied, yawning loudly as he turned back around, ignoring Lazarus. Lazarus began to laugh. He felt several members of the line turn to look at him.

"Oh, buddy, you messed with the wrong, hey! You know it's rude not to look at someone when they're-" Lazarus grabbed the man by the shoulder to spin him around, instantly, the man dropped to the ground. Lazarus stood there, confused for a moment, before the man smiled at him.

"Security!" The greasy man cried, and suddenly, Lazarus was wondering how many times he could kick this man before Mountain got here.

"Don't even think about it kid." Mountain said as Lazarus turned around to find the massive man already behind him, "You know we have a no shoving policy here, kid."

Lazarus put his hands to his head and tried to resist the urge to screech like a vulture, "This man cut in front of me, he bypassed the whole line!" Mountain frowned, then turned to the people behind Lazarus.

"Did any of you see this man cut in line?" Mountain asked, and Lazarus felt a little bit of his faith in humanity die as everyone shrugged and muttered to themselves, clearly not wanting to get involved, "Sorry kid, no one's vouching for you."

Lazarus took a deep breath, but Moutain put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I believe you kid, but I wasn't here, and I got a job to do." Lazarus stared at his feet, keeping his anger just barely contained beneath the surface, "Please, I like you kid, don't make this hard for me to do." Lazarus said nothing as he slowly spread his arms out, allowing Mountain to move him like a forklift, carrying him down the stairs as the line moved on without him.

* * *

Lazarus sat on the bench outside, no longer feeling angry, or sad, or anything. He felt numb, the kind of numbness that drives people to burn down buildings and feel nothing.

"Boy, you really can't catch a break, can you?" Aiko spoke as she moved her torso over the top of the bench, her face a few inches away from Lazarus's ear.

"I don't want your help." Lazarus spoke, his teeth clenching together as anger replaced the previous numbness.

Aiko chuckled as she crawled over the bench to sit beside him, clearly ignoring his previous request, "I mean, I'm just saying, you could have avoided-" Lazarus stood and turned, suddenly ignited with rage.

"Every goddamn day, someone tries to help me! Every day since I was old enough to screw up it happens! I can't help it if I'm stupid, if I love poetry and philosophy but numbers and biology screw me over! You know what? I can handle it myself! Shocking right?" Lazarus moved away from the bench, his rant taking on a life of its own, "It's those eyes they give me, that you're give me! Right now! That sympathy, empathy, that 'that kid's had a rough life, I should throw him a bone' kinda look, I don't need it, I don't need you, I don't need anyone!" Lazarus felt like pulling out his hair, his emotions sweeping him away.

"Just because I've maybe got some trauma to work though, just because I'm a little more stupid than the average high schooler, and just because maybe I've failed again and again, none of that gives you the right to do it for me! How else am I going to improve myself if everyone does my damn job for me!" Lazarus felt a weight begin to lift off his chest, he admitted he was enjoying it.

"Damn you! Damn Sero! Damn my brother! Damn my sister! Damn my teachers! Damn my therapist! Damn-" Lazarus stopped himself, tears welling at the corner of his eyes, but he knew he wasn't finished yet.

"I need to do it myself! I need to prove to myself, no matter what they say! I can be good enough! I can't go to UA if I can't even fill out a stupid, goddamn Q-R-L-M-N-O-who-even-cares goverment piece of glorified toilet paper myself! So. No! Thank! You!" Lazarus roared. suddenly feeling physically, and emotionally drained as he stumbled back to the bench and sat down. Silence descended between the two of them. Aiko wide eyed at the sudden outburst.

"I, uh, guess I hit a nerve?" Aiko spoke meekly, clearly unsure on how to proceed. Lazarus sighed, rubbing his temples as he wiped his eyes.

"Sorry, damn it, I lost it! Sorry, sorry, sorry." Lazarus mumbled as he forced himself to stand, needing to get away.

"Hey, kid!" Aiko called, Lazarus hesitated, and slowly turned to look back at her. She had stood up and was slowly walking towards him. Aiko put a hand on each of his shoulders and pulled him in for an awkward hug. Lazarus at first had no idea how to react, but slowly, he put his arms around her and relaxed, after a moment, they both released the other and Aiko smiled sadly at him.

"I get it, I honestly do, trust me, government paperwork brings out the worst in humanity." Lazarus chuckled at Aiko's words.

"I believe in you kid, but no man's an island; there's nothing wrong with getting a helping hand. You might not believe this, but it's often not pity, it's often people liking the feeling they get when they help someone they like." Aiko finished, leaving Lazarus squirming slightly, unsure how to react. She smiled at him again.

"I'll be out here if you ever want to take me up on my offer, but if you need to do this, I'll be rooting for you Lazarus!" Aiko spoke, slowly returning to behind the bench and sinking behind it.

Lazarus couldn't stop the burning question he had from escaping his mouth, "Do you just, do no work here?" Aiko laughed.

"Whenever my pager goes off they need me, which means I can spend most of my day relaxing back here." Aiko held up an old-school black pager, illustrating her point, "No go kid! You got a task to do!" Lazarus grinned, turning as he bolted for the door, taking a moment to hype himself up as he threw open the door, and entered one more time.

* * *

Lazarus reached the top of the stairs, and grimaced at the new line. However, before he could move to take his place, he noticed a familiar face walking back towards him.

"Well, well, if it isn't the guy who attacked me." The greasy man spoke, smiling as he held his paperwork under one of his arms, seemingly happy with how his day had gone. Lazarus regarded him silently.

"What's the matter," the greasy man taunted, moving directly into Lazarus's personal space, clearly intent on getting a reaction out of Lazarus, who had no intentions of giving him one, "Aw? You pouting kid? Grow up, this is how the world works. People like me get ahead, people like you? Get stuck at the back." The man's condescending words almost succeeded in getting under Lazarus's skin, but Lazarus forced himself to smile.

"You are completely right, sir, people like you have different things happen to them." Lazarus reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cube, holding it in his palm as he took a step away from the man, "You know what I do to people like you? You know what's left of people like you?" The man Smirked.

"You threatening me little man? You really think I'm scared of you?" The man laughed, Lazarus just kept smiling, the man stopped laughing, clearly a little unnerved by Lazarus's unfailing smile.

Lazarus felt his smile grow a little wider and a little more genuine as he imposed his will onto the cube he was holding, his cube responded, and instantly turned transparent. Revealing to the man Lazarus's blood-red beating heart inside, still dutifully pumping away within the now glass-looking walls, "This, sir, is what's left of people like you."

Lazarus took every pleasure out of how the man paled instantly. The blood completely draining out of his face as his jaw seemingly unhinged and his knees buckled as he fell to the ground and screamed in terror. Lazarus turned the cube opaque again in the instant before the man's screeching attracted the attention of the line. Mountain was beside the man a second later.

"Sir, please don't scream like that, you'll scare the other people." Mountain spoke in a dull, patronizing tone that almost made Lazarus break character. The greasy man continued to sit on the floor, babbling incoherently as Mountain slowly picked him up and slung him over his shoulder.

"You obviously had nothing to do with this man's breakdown, right kid?" Mountain asked, causing Lazarus's creepy smile to shift into one of naive innocence.

"Oh no sir, I have no idea what happened." Lazarus moved to the back of the line, whistling as he waited patently for the line to advance, Mountain stood still for a moment, before rolling his eyes and moving down the stairs, still carrying the greasy man.

* * *

Lazarus tapped his foot, a slight grin still on his face, even so long after the incident. The line had moved forward significantly, Lazarus could see the end in sight. Lazarus tried not to let his impatience get the better of him, but his legs, which had been lovingly supporting him all day long, slowly began to give out underneath him. Lazarus tried to stretch, bending his knees while twisting his upper body; However, Lazarus felt himself bump into someone behind him as he twisted, and instantly turned to apologize.

"Sorry!" Both he and the boy he hit spoke at the same moment. Lazarus blinked.

"What are you, Canadian? Someone hits you and you apologize?" Lazarus spoke before he could filter his words, instantly regretting that he had snarked at someone who had just done nothing but apologize sincerely to him.

"Oh! Sorry! Wait! That's still apologizing, sorry- ah!" The boy began to shake, mumbling to himself as he bowed again and again, somehow becoming caught in a cycle of apologizing for apologizing. Lazarus suddenly felt terrible about inflicting this fate upon the boy.

"It's cool!" Lazarus stopped the boy dead in his tracks, "I'm sorry for saying you shouldn't apologize, not that you needed to apologize! But hey, it's not my business to tell you what to do and not to do. If-if you wanna apologize, damn it, you go ahead and apologize! And-and if you don't, you just, yeah, don't." Lazarus felt incredibly lame as he finished, his mouth failing him as he tried to speak faster than his brain could work in Japanese. The boy however, while confused, seemed to appreciate being let off the hook.

Lazarus looked the boy over, trying to figure out what could make a person so jumpy. Lazarus knew that others told him he looked a little older than his actual age, which made Lazarus, in his own opinion, terrible at guessing other people's ages. Though the boy looked a little young in the face to Lazarus, it was clear he was around Lazarus's age by the definition on his arms and legs, the kind of muscles that only started forming with the heavy training that body-builders, heavy labourers and pro-heroes-in-training did. The kid's green hair and freckles were really his only noticeable features besides his toned body. Lazarus also noticed the kid looked incredibly self-conscious, but that might have been because Lazarus was wordlessly staring directly at him with laser focus.

"There's nothing on your face, I'm just trying to psychoanalyze you." Lazarus justified himself, too tired at this point for pleasantries. Lazarus noticed his words did not appear to help the situation at all, as the green haired boy looked even more uncomfortable. As Lazarus replied what he had just said, he really couldn't blame him.

"Ah." The boy said, as he looked down at his feet and twiddled his thumbs. Lazarus frowned, he didn't really want to leave the situation so awkward.

"So! What brings you to the seventh circle of hell that the powers-that-be call the Quirk registrations office." Lazarus tried not to seem bipolar as he forced normal cheer back into his tone.

The boy laughed, "It's not that bad."

Lazarus was instantly reminded of the trials he'd had today and his tone instantly dropped, "It is." Lazarus winced at the bluntness of his words, though not as much as the boy seemed to as he once again seemed to go back to staring at his feet. Lazarus wondered how deep into this grave he could dig himself.

"Well, what are you doing here?" Lazarus kept his tone cool as he tried not to screw up the situation any further.

The boy looked back up, seemingly surprised Lazarus was still talking, Lazarus was a little surprised Lazarus was still talking too, "I'm here to re-register my quirk." The boy spoke, and Lazarus was relieved to finally find a non-awkward conversation topic.

"Oh yeah, me too buddy! Mind if I ask what your Quirk is?" Lazarus couldn't help but be a little overeager, his love of Quirks generating vast enthusiasm within him. The boy's eyes lit up, clearly just as happy to talk about quirks, then just as suddenly, panic flooded into the boy's eyes, "Oh! Uh, I have- well that is, uh, it's…super strength, kind of." The boy was gesturing all over the place, Lazarus just chuckled.

"Is that what you'll put on the official document, you do know we're supposed to update them for clarity, right? Did you already have 'maybe super strength' on the sheet?" Lazarus taunted the boy playfully, though the boy seemed to be quite serious.

"I uh, actually had myself registered as quirkless before, it's uh, a recent change." The boy spoke so quietly that Lazarus suddenly struggled to hear him, and even when Lazarus did hear him, he couldn't believe what he had heard.

"Wait wait wait, recent change? I mean, I grew up in a pretty weird neighborhood, but I've still never heard of anyone developing a quirk past like, six at the most, hell, it's incredibly rare after four. I've never heard of anyone-" Lazarus stopped himself short as the boy seemed incredibly panicked. Lazarus berated himself, he just couldn't shut his own mouth.

"Ahaha, that is, uh, what do I know right? I'm just some stupid guy and not some big shot quirk-y doctor, hahaha! Haha! Hahaha, haha, ha. Ha… Ha." Lazarus felt like running away at this point, but he had gone too far, both in the line and committing to this conversation to back out now.

"Uh, haha." The boy laughed, clearly out of politeness, before asking a question of his own, clearly trying to change the subject, "So, why are you here?"

Lazarus tried to choose his next words more carefully than he had the last few times he had been asked about his quirk, "I'm listed as quirkless, so I needed to come down here in person to get permission to uh, kill myself because I really can't do anything else at this point." Lazarus finished, staring directly at the boy in front of him, both of them equally horrified at how terrible Lazarus's choice of words was. The both stared wordlessly at each other, a painful silence descending between the two of them.

Suddenly deciding that it was rude to just stare, Lazarus smiled what he hoped was a seemingly warm smile and tried to strike up another final attempt at conversation, "So! Now that this can't get any worse, I should introduce myself, I'm Lazarus. Nice to meet you..?"

The boy perked up suddenly, smiling in a way that seemed to cute for someone who could be his male classmate and not his four year old baby cousin, "I'm Izuku Midoriya! Nice to meet you Lazarus-kun!" Lazarus nodded.

"The pleasure is all mine Izuku." Lazarus spoke casually, only stopping when he noticed Izuku shoot him a look that was somehow shocked, confused and apologetic all at the same time.

"Eheh? I'm sorry I must have misheard you." Izuku spoke carefully, seemingly trying not to offend Lazarus.

Lazarus tilted his head, trying to figure out what Izuku could have misheard. Then it hit him, much like what he thought Mr. Sero was going to do to him. He had forgot to use honorifics, for the upteenth time. Lazarus suddenly felt the long day of panic catch up to him as his mind blanked for the correct one to use.

"Uh, oh, right, heh, I said; The pleasure is all mine Izuku-...Izuku-Chan?" Lazarus spoke, the confidence draining from his voice with every new word that left it.

Izuku's completely unreadable expression gave Lazarus all the confirmation he needed that he had in fact, chosen poorly.

"Uh, crap, wait, don't tell me, oh, god you just used it too...uh...uh." Lazarus stuttered suddenly mimicking Izuku's earlier behavior as he snapped his fingers, trying to re-live through what Izuku had just said, "Izuku-kun! Izukun! Izukukunkun! Kun! Haha!" Lazarus cheered to himself pumping his fist dramatically at his ability to achieve the social basics of a place he had already been living in for several weeks.

"Next person in line please, next per- oh, it's you Lazarus, get your ass in there." The quirk-made copy of Chiba spoke. Lazarus turned realising that he was in fact the next person in line. Lazarus turned, his smile suddenly as bright as ever.

"Well, Izuku-kun-chan-san whatever, I want to say this hasn't been one of the worst social encounters of my life, but I shall not lie to your face. I'm going to go, and I'm going to replay this incredibly awkward series of events inside my own head for probably the next few weeks until I forget about it entirely." Lazarus laid a hand on an uncomfortable Izuku's shoulder, "I'm incredibly glad Japan is such a large place, because I can take solace in the fact I'll never have to ever see your face and consequently remember this event for the rest of my life. Speaking of which, you have a good life Izuku! Follow your dreams; chase happiness; find someone who loves you and cherish that person; and always remember that life is too short to half-ass it. Goodbye my sweet-sweet smiling prince." Lazarus took his hand off Izuku's shoulder and maintained an uncomfortable amount of eye contact as he committed to the fact that if he was going down in flames, he was going to make it spectacular.

"Chiba, close the door." Lazarus half-whispered, Chiba looked at him with disgust.

"Do it yourself damn it." She spat back, Lazarus still maintained eye contact with Izuku, already feeling the conversation going from memorably terrible to Izuku getting a restraining order against him.

"Please?" Lazarus whispered, Chiba groaned and stood up closing the door, allowing Lazarus to finally relax.

"Well," Lazarus spoke to himself, "I'm so glad that's over with. Thank god I'll never have to see him ever again." With that, Lazarus put the encounter out of his mind and turned around, revealing the stern faced man on the other side of the office, who had quietly observed Lazarus talking to himself like a madman.

"Papers please." The man spoke, his tone had an edge to it, like the angry Chiba outside, but with somehow more malice to it. Lazarus put down his stack of papers. Lazarus couldn't help but smile as the man went through them, putting aside the bits he would have to sign.

Lazarus looked around the office, it was a lot grander than the ones downstairs, with plush chairs, a sofa in the corner, tasteful paintings that were probably worth more than Lazarus was on the walls, and a variety of aesthetically pleasing objects on the desk. Lazarus looked over the desk, noticing one particular object that stood out to him. A silver dip pen, polished and sharpened, though there didn't appear to be any inkpots nearby to dip it in. Lazarus reached out to inspect it, but the man looked up almost too fast for Lazarus to follow.

"Touch it and I'll kick you out of here myself." The man spoke in a low tone, causing Lazarus to instantly jerk his hand away, the man seemed satisfied for a moment, then he pushed all the papers back to Lazarus.

"You're missing your Q-1." The man spoke, causing a deep pit to open in Lazarus's stomach.

"I, I wasn't told of any Q-1 forms, I have my Q-0 and-" Lazarus tried to remain calm as he explained, but the man cut him off.

"Tsk! Get with the program, Q-1 forms went out half an hour ago." The man already seemed done with Lazarus. Lazarus felt the pit begin to fill with overflowing need to overthrow the government.

"I was in the line for an hour, how was I supposed to get my Q-1?" Lazarus suddenly realized why the line had sudden begun to move so fast so quickly.

The man shrugged, "Not my problem, get your form and get back in line, there's about a three hour wait now." Lazarus made no move to leave the room, in fact, Lazarus was reasonable sure he wasn't going to leave the room without doing something stupid.

The man looked up and frowned, "What the hell are you still doing here?" Lazarus froze, trying to repress the urge to do something he'd regret. The man clearly took this for disrespect, "Look, it's not my problem your mommy didn't love you enough to get your quirk registered."

Lazarus suddenly felt something inside him break.

The man continued, unaware of how his words had affected Lazarus, "I can't do anything else for you now, so unless you're about to have a medical emergency, I got nothing else to say to you." The man stood up and picked up the phone, "Security, could you come remove someone from my office."

Lazarus slowly moved towards the desk, his eyes drained of any kind of emotion or reaction. He looked the man on the other side dead in the eyes as he raised his leg and slowly put his foot on the desk, his black sneakers transferring dirt and grass from outside onto the desk.

"The hell! Get your leg off of my desk!" The man shouted, Lazarus did not respond as he calmly rolled up his black pant leg, revealing his pale leg underneath. The man stopped yelling, clearly confused by what he probably assumed was a crazy kid.

Lazarus knew he only had a few more seconds before Mountain got here, he reached over and carefully picked up the beautifully crafted silver dip pen. The man started yelling again as Lazarus took a second to admire the craftsmanship, it was clearly hand made with care and bought for an ungodly sum of money.

"The hell kid? You'll never step foot in this office again! I'll get you banned for life, I'll!" Lazarus held up a single finger, silencing the man for a moment. Lazarus looked up from the pen, made direct eye contact with the man, and then quickly drove the pen directly through the side of his kneecap. The pen pierced through to the other side of his knee as it stuck out both ends, the wound bleeding all over the man's desk. The man froze in shock and terror, Lazarus didn't break eye contact.

"Oops. I've accidentally injured myself. Help. I am currently having a medical emergency." Lazarus spoke in total deadpan, ignoring the dull throbbing from his leg that told him he had hurt himself.

"Security!" The man screeched, falling out of his chair as he scurried away from Lazarus, Lazarus sighed as he heard the doors be thrown open behind him.

"Take me away boys!" Lazarus cried raising his arms out to the side and glancing upwards, striking a pose as he allowed Mountain to slip his arms easily underneath Lazarus's own and heave him out of the room, quickly carrying him away.

* * *

Lazarus limped away from the front door of the building, turning back to Mountain, who was standing in front of the door.

"Do...do you need me to call an ambulance?" Mountain asked, Lazarus smiled sadly, appreciating the concern, but waving it off.

"Nah, I may be officially quirkless, but I'm good, doesn't even hurt." Lazarus spoke, only slightly lying at the end.

Mountain nodded, then scratched the back of his head, "You know, it's probably a good idea if-" Lazarus nodded.

"Got it, avoid this place for awhile." Mountain smiled, seemingly happy that Lazarus wasn't causing a fuss.

"Cool, kid, you know what, keep the pen. Think of it as a souvenir." Mountain laughed, Lazarus couldn't help but laugh along, Mountain's deep baritone laugh was infectious.

"See ya around big guy, thanks for the rides!" Lazarus waved back as he limped his way down the stairs.

Mountain waved back, "Keep it real, kid-, Lazarus, good luck out there!" Mountain stood there for a moment longer, then gave a second, little wave, then closed the doors. Lazarus tried not to bleed on the nice pathway as he moved to sit down at the now familiar bench. He looked out at the setting sun, already knowing he'd have to phone Hanta to let him know he wouldn't be able to limp his way home in time for dinner.

Aiko walked around the bench and sat down beside him, she had a second left arm, carrying a small laptop underneath it. She smiled at him for a moment, then quickly frowned as she noticed the pen embedded in his knee. Aiko looked at Lazarus, who shrugged.

"So, the important thing is; I gave it the old college try." Lazarus summarized the day as simply as he could, "I may have failed, but damn it if I didn't give it my all. I can't be upset with myself for what I couldn't do." Lazarus smiled, Aiko continued to frown.

"Was sticking a pen into your leg 'giving it your all''? Because if so, I have great many worries." Aiko opened up the laptop and looked at Lazarus expectantly. Lazarus looked back and laughed a hollow laugh.

"Okay, so I lost my temper, but that bastard hit a nerve. Haha! Even you couldn't help me at this point." Lazarus groaned as he shook his head, accepting that he'd be rejected from U.A. before he could even participate in the practical.

"Try me." Aiko spoke simply, causing Lazarus to look at her.

"What?" Lazarus asked.

"You said even I couldn't help you at this point; try me, I'll see what I can do." Aiko used her two remaining hands to begin typing away on the computer. Lazarus snorted. Aiko cut him off before he could respond, "I'm not pitying you, I'm a selfish person, you know? I just like showing off to people."

Lazarus smiled and rolled his eyes, in truth, he admitted to himself he had accepted that he was being childish for not trying the easy route, and at this point, it was worth a shot, "Alright, I'll take you up."

Aiko looked at her computer, "Full name please."

Lazarus paused for a moment, "Legal or Preferred?"

Aiko responded instantly, "Legal only, please."

Lazarus shrugged, "Lazarus Lovecraft Poe." This caused Aiko to look up and raise an eyebrow at him, Lazarus chuckled, "My mom...had twisted taste in literature and my dad had an ironically fitting last name."

Aiko went back to typing, "Please summarize your quirk."

Lazarus grinned, "I can come back from the dead." Aiko glared at him from the corner of her eye.

"Perfect." Aiko spoke, "Now please summarize it seriously, as if you were taking this seriously."

Lazarus laughed, "How about this instead; Total regenerative ability starting from the heart, which is only triggered in the event of catastrophic physical trauma." Lazarus paused to allow Aiko time to process, "Serious enough?"

Aiko blinked a few times, then began typing, "Jeez, you were being serious? How the hell have you never registered a quirk like that before." Lazarus looked around and cocked his head.

"I guess we just do things differently in 'Merica." Lazarus ignored Aiko's eye roll. After a moment, Aiko closed her laptop.

"Okay, done." Aiko stood up and began to walk away, as Lazarus sat still, unsure of what had just happened.

"Done, what?" Lazarus asked, his face contorting as he stood, the pen shifting slightly. Aiko turned to face him and beamed.

"Congratulation Lazarus Poe! You are now in the digital database of Japanese Quirk users! Anyone who needs that information can get it online, like everyone gets everything nowadays." Aiko laughed as Lazarus felt his brain slowly curl into a ball and cry, which is also what he felt like doing.

"It was that easy." Lazarus spoke, fear creeping into his voice.

"It was that easy." Aiko confirmed.

"That easy." Lazarus spoke.

"That easy." Aiko confirmed.

"Easy?" Lazarus spoke.

"Easy." Aiko confirmed.

"Ah." Lazarus sat down again.

Aiko turned on her heels and walked back over giving lazarus a pat on the back, "There, there Lazarus. Take this as a learning experience, the best heroes always take the easy way out."

Lazarus looked up at her, "I'm pretty sure that's one-hundred percent false." She smiled again.

"It's true when it comes to paperwork. I'm off for the day! Good luck Lazarus!" She turned as if to leave, then paused, fishing around in her pocket for a moment before pulling out a tiny business card and handing it to Lazarus, winking playfully.

"Just call your good friend Aimi-Chan if you have any problems in the future alright? I'm in your corner kid!" She backed away and gave him a thumbs up. Lazarus smiled, feeling what little emotion he had left turn to thankfulness, tears welling for what felt like the millionth time in his eyes.

"Thank you." Lazarus had so much more he wanted to say, but he knew he'd screw it up if he tried to make it any more complicated than that.

As if sensing Lazarus's intentions, Aiko laughed one last time as she turned and walked away, waving the whole time.

Lazarus turned to leave himself, before being hit in the head by what felt like a crumpled up ball of paper. Lazarus looked up at where it had come from just in time to see a window closing on the second floor. Lazarus uncrumpled it to find 'Mountain' written in black marker alongside contact information. Lazarus laughed as he looked up and waved, hoping Mountain was still watching. Slipping the paper and the business card into his wallet, he pulled out his phone and began the long limp home.

* * *

It was dark by the time Lazarus made it back to the Sero's residence, Lazarus had pulled the pen out at some point and had wrapped his shirt around the wound. Meaning he had stuck to back alleyways as to not get hit with a ticket for public indecency. He wasn't sure if it was public indecency to walk around Japan without a shirt on, but he didn't really want to find out through trial and error.

Hanta was sitting by the table, clearly waiting for him to get back, Hanta looked him up and down, his brow deepening as he noticed the bloody shirt tied around Lazarus's knee. Hanta looked at Lazarus, an eyebrow raised, expecting an explanation.

"I've learned a valuable lesson about letting people help you, scared a man senseless, called a boy my sweet-sweet smile prince, drove an expensive hand-made dip pen through my knee, and made two new friends." Lazarus stopped to make sure he had covered everything, "Oh, and the government says it's okay with me killing myself."

Hanta looked down and sighed, "Good day then?"

Lazarus nodded sagely, "Very productive, I'm going to bed now to heal."

Hanta looked at Lazarus quizzically, "You're going to go… uh, regenerate?"

Lazarus shook his head, "I mean, yeah, but I'm not going to off myself." Lazarus continued when he noticed Hanta's remaining confusion, "I always regenerate at midnight if there's anything wrong with my body, it's why I don't have any scars. I don't just off myself every time I get a non-fatal wound, don't you know how high my death count would be if I did?"

Hanta just waved Lazarus to get going, Lazarus nodded at Hanta and limped his way past him, Hanta turned around just as Lazarus was about to leave, coughing to bring Lazarus's attention back. Lazarus glanced over his shoulder to see Hanta sitting there with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Goodnight Lazarus, I love you." Hanta playfully mocked Lazarus. Lazarus just smiled back with the same grin.

"Why are you mocking me?" Lazarus pretended to sound wounded, more wounded than his actual wound had made him sound, "I knew what I said this morning."

Hanta paused, then stuttered slightly, clearly unsure if Lazarus was toying with him or not. Lazarus smiled, genuine happiness overtaking him.

"Love you too Hanta, have a good night!" Without waiting for Hanta to come up with a proper response, Lazarus limped away as quickly as he could, he had dealt with enough today.


	4. Convictions and Casualties

**BenchBeYolking here with another chapter of Taxes and Taxes; also known as; Consistent updates? Never heard of them!**

 **I was a little worried about the pacing slowing down (what with chapter 1.5 and this chapter being the lead up to the exam) so I can promise that things will pick up a little bit, but I'm not going to rush this story. I've got everything planned out!**

 **Thank you all for following this story (and if you don't don't worry, if you've enjoyed it even a little, I appreciate you stopping by!)**

 **As always, I read every review and enjoy every single one, be it positive feedback or scathing criticism, I want to make this story something you all can enjoy, so feel free to toss anything my way (even crack ships, I got a real laugh over SweetSweetSmilingPrinceXLazarus) Seriously, even if you just roast me for like, two paragraphs I will forever appreciate you taking the time to let me know how you feel!**

 **I know I say it a lot, but I just have to thank you all, even though this story may be rough around the edges, the fact that my writing is something that can make other people happy never fails to brighten my day, thank you all from the bottom of my heart for letting me share this story with you.**

 **Without further Ado- I shall let the chapter speak for itself.**

* * *

Lazarus laid there and wondered what it would be like to be dead.

Lazarus was struck by how odd the thought was, after all, if anyone in the entire world would be qualified to answer that question scientifically, it would most likely be him. He had come back from beyond the brink so many times that he barely thought of death as anything but an unfortunately terrifying inconvenience; Though, Lazarus wondered if what he did could even be called dying.

"Lazarus." Hanta Sero spoke quietly, sitting down beside Lazarus's prone form.

Perhaps he often exaggerated the extent of his abilities, after all, he had outside of the most traumatic event of his life, never known that he wasn't coming back. After his first time embracing the darkness between death and life his mind had chosen to adapt, death was terrifying to the everyman because it was the greatest unknown, and once the unknown was known, the fear left very quickly afterwards.

"Lazarus, please, it's not that bad." Hanta spoke, trying to shake Lazarus out of his spiraling depression.

To call what he did 'dying' was disingenuous. He had always kept his heart safe, literally, from harm. He had confronted horrible pain and suffering and yet always survived, but the need to communicate what he did, what he experienced in those moments between existence and not-quite-death, had haunted him for so long. Lazarus knew he lacked the words, the English language lacked the words, to explain what he had to go through every single time his quirk activated. So he called it death, to simplify it into words that he could speak, that others could comprehend.

"We can get through this Lazarus, you just need to… not lay here and wait for death." Hanta spoke to Lazarus, trying to invoke some kind of response.

"Shut up Hanta," Lazarus spoke, his voice muffled by the floor his face was pressed against, "Can't you see I'm trying to tap into the darkness in my heart and deal with some deep rooted philosophical concepts that make me who I am?"

Hanta rolled his eyes as he hit Lazarus with a strand of tape and flipped him over onto his back, exposing Lazarus to the harsh light of the room.

"Lazarus," Hanta began, Lazarus wailed in agony, yet if Hanta noticed him, he didn't show it, "I'm still not sure how you could not know that UA would have a practical exam." Hanta's words forced Lazarus to face the grim reality of what was happening.

"Hanta, my friend. I knew about the practical exam," Lazarus rolled himself over again, slowly rising like a zombie from his grave, "I've done a bunch of hand-to-hand combat in my life, I'm in reasonably good shape and I'm the kninda guy you want around during a street brawl, but guess what Hanta? I've never lived in an area rich enough to throw robotic goddamn combatants at it's students!" Lazarus voice rose quickly to a shrill tone, before Lazarus slowly lowered himself back down to the ground.

"Lazarus-" Hanta tried to interject.

"I am finally learning what death is, Hanta. Death is the end, ruination, it's abandoning your life to fulfill your dreams and then watching your dreams die, that is death," Lazarus lamented to himself as he felt the need to curl up into a ball, but lacked the drive to do so, "Let me die, because that's all I can do against metal death machines. Die and come back and die and come back. Just tape me up and wait for me to asphyxiate at this point, it'll be faster then watching me suffer." Lazarus heard Hanta sigh and get up.

"Well, fine, Lazarus. I'm sorry to say that I'm not going to waste my day while you feel sorry for yourself. We have three days until the practical exam, Lazarus. We only have three days to prepare for the most important test of our young lives. I want us to succeed together, but it seems like we're each in a different place right now, and that kinda sucks. So, I'm going to use this time to train just a little bit more, and if you want to use it to lay on the floor, you go ahead and do what you love." Hanta bent down one last time and patted Lazarus mockingly on the head, before grabbing his bag and beginning to walk out the door.

Lazarus bolted up, groaning as the blood rushed to his head, pointing accusingly at Hanta, "You just sit there on your high horse Hanta! You've got an awesome quirk! And- and a loving family! And a brilliant-" Lazarus's half-angry rant was cut short by Hanta laughing from the doorway.

"Wow, your insults really cut deep Lazarus," Hanta was smiling ear from ear, "Good luck being stuck thinking about death, bye! Love you-" Hanta cringed, causing Lazarus to start laughing, making Hanta turn red, "Shut up! You've got me doing it now!" Hanta slammed the door, leaving Lazarus alone.

Moving over to the table, Lazarus sat down and slumped over, grumbling to himself as he returned to his original mindset of wishing for a swift death. He fumed. Lazarus didn't want to be angry with Hanta, after all, Hanta hadn't purposefully kept the fact that all the one on one training they had done wouldn't apply to the practical. Lazarus knew his misconceptions were his own fault, but Hanta made a far easier scapegoat then taking the blame all onto himself.

Lazarus forced himself to stand up, grunting as he placed his palms on the table and slowly pushed himself away, his body physically exhausted after so much mental exercise.

Lazarus took a moment to check in with his body, he'd trained it well. Sure he didn't have the rippling muscles of a professional bodybuilder or abs like a greek god, but he was lean and toned, the kind of weird muscles developed through practical doing instead of the more even and aesthetically pleasing muscles gained at a fancy gym with actual equipment.

He sighed and shook his head, flexing his arms at his side. He was far beyond what most kids his age were physically, and his experience gave him an edge few others his age, or older, had, but that was it. Lazarus knew his quirk was, much like him, weird. Being able to come back from the dead may be useful in a brawl to the death, but in a protected school environment? Against robots? Lazarus could swing above his weight class because he didn't fear death, injury or consequence; Thusly, he never had to worry about his guard or his defence, he overwhelmed his foe blow-for-blow, tit-for-tat, even if it broke his body, because his body was just another tool that he could repair no matter how many times it broke. But robots didn't feel the drain of a battle, they didn't feel pain. Robots could do everything he could do but better, he could just be repaired faster.

Before Lazarus knew it, he had grabbed his bag and had walked out the door. He thought about following Hanta to train, but Lazarus knew he'd only drag his friend down in his current state. So Lazarus set out for the train station, not knowing his destination, only knowing that he needed a breath of fresh air.

* * *

Lazarus walked down the packed street. He had room to move, for once, as if the people around his sensed his strong emotions and purposefully isolated him from the group, as if they were afraid of catching his negative disposition. Or maybe it was just the scowl on his face he couldn't get rid of that gave him away.

His body was curled in defensively, his shoulders sagged and his mouth wouldn't do anything else other than scowl, not that he wanted it to, he was pissed at everything, so why bother trying to hide it?

The thoughts followed him everywhere he went; what was the point? He had worked so hard to get here, why was the whole world against him? It was like existence was one big joke and he was the comic punchline. Lazarus knew he'd only have one shot at this, he didn't have the cash to wait around Japan for another year and he knew he'd be forced to go to a normal school if he had to return to America. He wanted to be a hero, so why was everyone making so hard for him to do it?

Suddenly, Lazarus found himself in an alleyway, he turned around to glance behind him. He hadn't even noticed himself diverting his path away from the crowd, he groaned, it seemed his want to be alone transcended even his conscious mind. Lazarus ran a hand along the concrete wall, the alleyway was barren, it wasn't that long, only going for half a block or so, but it was wide enough for Lazarus to pace around in, which he did, comfortably. He looked up to see a maze of stairwells and fire escapes above, which still couldn't fully obstruct the view of the sky. Lazarus took a shaky breath, like most of his breaths he ended up being when he was this stressed. Lazarus ran a hand through his hair, pushing the mess of black and hair gel back off his forehead and to the side. Clenching his fist, he kicked a pebble off to the side as he kept his eyes down. He watched the ground intensely until another pair of shoes entered his view.

Lazarus paused, he had never seen shoes like this before, the tips of the shoe were covered in what looked like razor spikes, he let his gaze slowly move upwards, taking in the entire metal shoe, or boot, or weapon, or whatever it was. Lazarus continued to look upwards noting the leather belt, leather chestpiece, a long torn red scarf and finally white fabric tied around his head, cut eye slits showing off red eyes. Lazarus glanced down then up the large man in front of him once again, taking in every inch of his bladed, intimidating form. Lazarus wanted to step back instinctively, but he felt his breath catch in his throat as he met the man's eyes. Those red eyes burned with an intensity Lazarus had never seen before, it was as if they were always judging, always wanting more, always looking for something better.

Lazarus opened his mouth to speak, but found himself hit with an overwhelming feeling of intimidation, he could barely breathe in the man's presence. The man acknowledged him with a tiny move of the eyes, all of the man's focus transferring to Lazarus in an instant.

Lazarus wanted to run, but for the first time in years, the fear of death truly held his step.

"Are you lost, kid?" The man asked, his rough voice shaking Lazarus to his core. Lazarus found himself in awe, he had never felt like this in the presence of anyone.

Lazarus licked his dry lips, opening and closing his jaw as he tried to find his voice again, "I might be, sir." Lazarus took a step back, his legs felt like jelly, but his limbs had begun to obey him again.

The man made no moves to do anything, only stare at Lazarus with that same silent power, "This isn't a place where normal people should be." The man shifted his foot, and Lazarus flinched, causing the man to huff.

"Who are you?" Lazarus mumbled, his voice coming across as meek and watery. The man looked surprised, tilting his head slightly.

"You do not know who I am?" The man sounded unsure, as if he didn't believe Lazarus.

Lazarus found the energy to break away from the man's gaze, looking up at the sky above as he tried to recall if he knew this man. Lazarus knew he was terrible at remembering names and faces, Heroes were his worst weakness. He knew the big names in the US, obviously, and he had a vague understanding of big Japanese heroes like All Might, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist, but there was something familiar about the man Lazarus couldn't shake.

"You're a pro hero, right?" Lazarus spoke, hoping to avoid admitting he had no idea who the man was exactly. The man blinked.

"I am Stain." The man spoke, his voice dark, clearly irritated Lazarus couldn't recognize him instantly. Lazarus racked his mind, trying to figure out if he had heard of a Pro Hero Stain.

"Oh? Oh! Yeah! Stain! Right, I remember you now!" Lazarus lied through his teeth, hoping Stain wouldn't press him for details, though Lazarus couldn't shake the fact that he had heard of Stain somewhere before. Maybe it had been in his travel advisory package, the one he had been unable to read properly at the time; However, why a hero would be in his travel advisory Lazarus couldn't figure out.

Stain frown deepened, "Then you should know you shouldn't be here, count yourself lucky I have no business with non-heroes." Stain turned to walk away, Lazarus took a deep breath as soon as Stain's eyes left Lazarus, however, Lazarus suddenly felt a need to justify himself, after all, it wasn't every day you met a Pro Hero alone.

"I am a hero!" Lazarus spoke, lifting his chin proudly, feeling the need to let Stain know of who he was. Instantly, there was a blade at his exposed throat.

"What did you say?" Stain spoke, having instantly drawn his blade in the time it had taken Lazarus to blink. Lazarus felt the need to swallow, but was terrified Stain was going to slice his adam's apple in half.

"Well, I mean, I want to be a hero." Lazarus corrected, leaning slightly further away from Stain, who leaned slightly forward to keep his blade at Lazarus's throat.

"And you're telling me this?" Stain said, his eyes now burrowing even deeper into Lazarus's soul, "Do you have a death wish, child?" Stain spoke simply.

"Well, I mean, I want to be a hero, so I gotta have a death wish, right?" Lazarus tried to smile, still wondering if all Japanese heroes were this aggressive and terrifying.

Stain said nothing, his eyes still locked onto Lazarus, but this time, Lazarus met his gaze without fear. Stain slowly lowered his blade.

"You have lost your fear of death." Stain spoke, in the same slow even tone had had kept for most of their admittedly one-sided conversation.

"It's a gift." Lazarus smirked.

"It wasn't a compliment, and it shouldn't be taken as one." Stain spoke crisply, shattering Lazarus's mirth instantly.

"You must be real fun at parties, ya'know?" Lazarus chuckled, halting as soon as Stain's gaze grew more intense.

"It's a poor choice for you to come here and try and mock me, child." Stain grabbed for his blade, for a moment, Lazarus forgot he was talking to a pro hero who wouldn't actually hurt him and held up his hands defensively.

"Woah! Sorry! Sorry! I've been told I have poor taste in humor. Very often actually." Lazarus relaxed as Stain dropped his hands back to his sides.

"Leave, kid, I have no reason to make you my target today." Stain spoke as he yet again moved to leave, Lazarus felt a very primal part of his brain beg him to let the man before him leave, but his curiosity that often got him killed won out in the end.

"I want to be a hero! But I don't think I can be." Lazarus blurted, as soon as Stain had his back to Lazarus. Stain paused mid stride, as if contemplating what to do.

"Explain. Quickly." Stain spoke, making no further move to leave, Lazarus took a deep inhale of air.

"So, right, a year ago, I suddenly decided 'hey I should maybe do something with my life!' so then I thought about it for a while and figured since all I really knew how to do was fight, becoming a pro-hero sounds pretty cool!" Lazarus paused, smiling, "So I decided to come to UA to become the best Hero! So I could, ya know, beat up villains, have the financial stability I never had before, all the good stuff." Lazarus stopped again, trying to figure out how to word the rest of his thoughts, "But my Quirk, I mean, it's great, but it's not very flash or destructive, and they're going to have us prove ourselves with some combat training, and I'm really just, kinda unfair you know? I mean, it's like they're discriminating against me because I don't have the kinda quirk most heroes have. So, I mean, ah, I'm rambling, I, I just kinda want to know what your take on all of it is?" Lazarus looked up, ready for anything.

Stain's back was still to Lazarus, but there was a tension in his body, one Lazarus was instantly worried about. It was the kind of full body clenching that was reserved to coming home to find someone had set your house on fire, crashed your car, and kicked your dog.

"You…" Stain began, then let out something between an exasperated sigh and an angry yell, "If you were not so eager for advice, I would strike you down right here." Lazarus blinked, completely blindsided by Stains rage.

Stain didn't turn, keeping his expression hidden from Lazarus as a gust of wind down the alleyway sent his red scarf dancing in the air, "You cannot become a hero, ever. I recommend giving up right now and going home." Lazarus felt a stinging in his chest, he had been told that before, of course, but never by a professional. Before Lazarus could respond, Stain continued.

"Your fault is not your quirk, or your body, or the school you have chosen, your fault is with yourself, you lack resolve, you lack conviction." Stain slowly turned, a single red eye, aglow with an inner fire pinning Lazarus to where he stood.

"Your very essence is not heroic in the least, your very reasons for your dreams are as corrupt as the world that birthed them. You are everything wrong with heroics, no, with this society, in a single walking body." Stain turned slightly further, showing his clenched fists and grinding teeth, "You complain about discrimination? Will villans care about your limits when committing crimes? Will they care about how many patrols you've completed to line your pocket with cash when lives are on the line?" Stain stepped towards Lazarus, and Lazarus felt utterly naked and helpless under Stain's gaze, like his skin was being ripped apart to expose the very things he tried so hard to hide.

Stain drew his blade and pointed it at the wall, his eyes following the blade for a moment before latching back onto Lazarus, "If I had a person at the end of my blade, you've revealed you're more concerned about defeating me and cashing a paycheck then the person you've 'sworn' to protect, the person I will kill because of your selfishness." Stain looked at Lazarus with such disdain that it snapped Lazarus out of his stupor.

"Hey! I've had a tough life, alright? Everything I've achieved I did though my own work, is it wrong that I want a little happiness at the end of-" Lazarus began, his tone raised to overpower stains voice.

"Yes." Stain said in a single shout, silencing Lazarus instantly, before Stain brought his voice back down, "I don't care about your life."

Lazarus bit his cheek, anger mixed with sadness rising in his chest.

Stain regarded Lazarus without mercy, "No one cares about your life. No one cares about your happiness. You do not become a hero to be happy, to find popularity. A true hero struggles endlessly, giving everything they have to be a symbol to the people of the world," Stain threw his arms out to the side, his blade gleaming in the air, "A hero cares not for worldly desires which corrupt their true purpose. A hero cares for a single thing, a single thing which you have no ability to comprehend." Stain leaned into Lazarus, so close Lazarus could feel Stains breath on his face. Stain raised his blade to Lazarus's throat.

"Go home, you cannot be a hero as you are." Stain paused, giving Lazarus a chance to respond, Lazarus had so many words to say, but under Stains gaze, every single one of them turned to dust in his mouth.

"...Disappointing." Stain spoke quietly as he removed the blade from Lazarus's throat, "If you try and stop me from leaving again, I will kill you where you stand." For some reason, Lazarus believed him.

Lazarus felt tears stream down his cheeks, his fingernails dug into his palms, drawing blood. He tried to push Stain's words from his mind but everywhere his thoughts turned, Stain's words were there. Lazarus raised a palm to his head and placed it over his eyes.

 _Blood._

Lazarus felt the memory bubble to the surface.

 _Twelve o'clock on the dot, the broken clock on the wall never showed the right minute, but always chimed on the hour._

Lazarus tried to escape the tormenting memory, but Stain's words pushed him back towards it.

 _His mother, with her long black hair, had just finished her after-work shower, and was preparing a late lunch, walking around in a long white house coat that had a different coloured belt. As she moved around the kitchen in their tiny one-story home, she smiled at Lazarus every time she caught his eyes from the cramped living room._

Lazarus raised his other hand to his head, trying to repress the memory before it fully became realized in his mind.

 _Lazarus was watching their old television, the news was playing a segment on new up and coming heroes debuting in America, the next segment was suppose to be an interview with All Might about becoming a hero. Lazarus heard a car pull up in front of their house, he saw his mom look at the clock curiously. He was happy, the whole family would be there in time to eat lunch together._

" _Mommy, thank you for pulling me out of daycare today!" Lazarus spoke happily, as excited as a four year old could be._

 _His mother smiled in that soft, motherly way she always did at him, "Oh my little Darling, don't worry! Soon your father will be here and we'll all finally be together again!"_

Lazarus felt himself tense, his fingernails digging into his forehead, knowing fully well what happened next.

 _The front door opened, letting the afternoon light into the room, covering the figure in the doorway in dark shadows. His father stood there, still wearing his police uniform, his eyes hidden behind his lowered cap. His mother walked out of the kitchen space to greet him._

 _Then Lazarus saw the shotgun in his father's hands._

"What did you say?" Stain spoke. Lazarus looked up, he saw Stain, half an inch away from his face. Lazarus looked at his own arm, firmly on Stain's shoulder, as stains own arm had buried a knife deep into Lazarus's arm. Lazarus barely felt the wound.

"I said there is too much death in this world." Lazarus repeated, his voice filled with an energy he didn't know he could posses, "You're right Stain, all that other stuff was unheroic, and it was all untrue." Lazarus's eyes battled Stain's own, unflinchingly watching.

"I hide behind it," Lazarus began, "I hide behind my words, the jokes, the whining and complaining, because society won't accept the truth that drove me to want to be a hero. They can't accept the truth. They refuse to believe that Heroes never can, never do, address the true ills of a society, they treat the symptoms, villains, without looking for the source." Lazarus stopped, looking for any sign of a reaction in Stain, Stain showed nothing.

"Society is not a person. It is not a thing that truly exists, it is a word we use to address the deep seated beliefs of the average, the uninformed, the everyman. Villains are not born from nothingness, they are a reflection of what society truly is, what the people truly are," Lazarus felt his other hand tighten into a fist, "The people of the world build their walls, they teach people to lie to themselves, to hide the things that isolate them from the collective. They teach that the only thing you have to fear are the Villains. Then they put heroes on a pedestal to fight the very sickness they created. Heroes bring repression, repression breeds villainy. Who suffers at the end of the day from this sick cycle?" Lazarus frowned.

"Death comes for everyone, I know that better than anyone else I've ever met. Villains and Heroes, right and wrong, justice and order, freedom and repression? Who the hell cares about any of that? Those things are temporary, constructs, that exist in those brief moments between life and nothingness." Lazarus felt something deep in his gut, a fire that he had repressed for so long, that he had hidden, being fed by his words, "In the end, The world will always be broken, you cannot change a society whose people are so corrupted at its very core. All you can do is try to forestall the inevitable, to hold back ruin." Lazarus felt the fire reach his eyes, and instead of the rush of unstable emotions he expected, he instead found himself calmed and collected in a way he never had before.

"That is my conviction Stain. I will forestall what can not be stopped, I will be the barrier between life and death. I can never save a life, as life was never meant to be saved."

 _His father's gaze, coming into view as his dad raised the shotgun, aiming it directly at his mother's chest, the eyes of a man who was dead inside._

 _Lazarus saw his mother turn, ignoring his Father to look one last time at Lazarus with a warm smile. And as her smile faltered, Lazarus would have given anything to see that smile last for one second longer._

"I will, with my own life, spend every moment I have to give someone else another chance at one. Because that is all I can do." Lazarus gazed deep into Stain's eyes, not looking for acceptance or rejection, but simply looking. Lazarus no longer needed Stain's words, he had found his own.

Stain smiled, a wide, unhinged smile, "That, that is conviction."

Lazarus released Stain's shoulder from his grip, grabbing the knife embedded in his arm and with a swift tug, yanked it free. Holding it in his off hand. He had never felt like this before, it felt like the words he had wanted to say, wanted to yell, for so long had finally been given power, and that power had been given right back to him. Even now, he could feel the fire burning inside him urging him forward.

Stain turned to face Lazarus completely, his wild smile still plastered across his face, "You are still so underdeveloped," He spoke, more to himself then to Lazarus, but Lazarus still absorbed his words, "You are cynical and untrusting, you lack the faith in your own ability to elevate your conviction to greater heights, but that can be developed, that can grow with time." Stain's smile faded until it was simply an amused grin.

Stain looked Lazarus over, Lazarus stood still, not out of fear or intimidation, but in pride. Lazarus felt different, his posture felt stronger, his vision seemed clearer and even with his wounds, he felt no pins or pain at all. Stain laughed.

"I wonder what kind of hero you will become?" Stain crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, "Now I can give you the advice you seek, though I feel you may have found it already within yourself. With conviction, no obstacle can stand in your way, with your mind truly clear, truly focused on a singular goal, nothing can shake you from your path. A true hero will over triumph over those with weaker conviction. Now you must meditate on your newfound conviction, and find a way to elevate it." Stain did not turn to leave, but instead moved to walk past Lazarus, Lazarus held out the knife for Stain, but Stain shook his head.

"Take that blade as a reminder of your conviction. Use it to remind yourself if you ever forget this fateful encounter. Though if you ever do truly forget your conviction, know I will one day come to remind you." As Stain finished, Lazarus shivered, Stain's words imprinting themselves on his brain.

"What is your conviction?" Lazarus asked, his words no longer meek.

Lazarus caught Stain smiling as he walked by, Lazarus turned to watch Stain's back as he moved away.

"What is your name?" Stain asked as he leapt up, grabbing onto a fire escape, quickly moving away.

"I'm Lazarus!" Lazarus called, knowing that Stain would soon disappear, and Lazarus would probably never see him alone again.

Stain paused, then turned, his body cloaked in shadows cast by the escape above him, leading Lazarus to only see his crimson eyes, "Lazarus, I will rebuild society, by taking back what it means to be a hero from the fakes." Stain quickly scaled farther up and away, yet his voice still echoed down the alley, "That is my conviction."

Lazarus paused for a moment, processing not only Stain's own conviction, but the certainty and resolve that showed in his voice as he spoke it. Lazarus yelled suddenly, having one more question.

"Wait! How did you know stabbing me wasn't going to actually hurt me?" Lazarus shouted up into the abyss above him, but if Stain heard him, he gave no reply.

Lazarus slumped to the ground, placing a hand over his still bleeding wound on his arm. In awe of his encounter with Stain. Lazarus felt no more doubts cloud his mind, he had no questions in his heart as to how he would proceed. Lazarus looked at the bloody knife on the ground beside him and smiled. Stain may have been unconventional, and a little crazy, but Lazarus knew he would never be able to repay the debt he owed to Stain for the fire he had lit inside Lazarus's heart.

Lazarus took his hand off the wound and wiped his now soiled hand on his shirt, before grabbing at his phone, opening his search engine, curiosity yet again getting the better of him. He began to type out Stain, but then stopped.

Lazarus locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. He looked up at where Stain had gone and smiled, "Society is corrupt, but you're going to rebuild it eh? Well, I don't need to know what those fakes are saying about you." Lazarus spoke to himself softly as he got to his feet, picking up Stain's knife and slipping it into his back pocket, "I will become a Hero who will fulfill the conviction you've shown me. One day Stain, I will meet you again and show you the Hero I've become. That I promise."

Lazarus let his gaze linger on the sky above him, his body rejuvenated and ready for the future. He barely reacted when his pocket started to buzz. Reaching down for his phone, he answered it and heard Hanta's voice on the other line.

"Hey, man, look I'm sorry for being so harsh earlier." Hanta spoke sheepishly, Lazarus just chuckled.

"You were right, I've learned that now, a true hero never lets potential failure halt his convictions." Lazarus spoke simply, without the normal flair and padding he added to his more serious comments, clearly surprising Hanta if the silence on the other line was any indication.

"Oh, okay, it sounds like you've had an eventful hour. You sound… different." Hanta stumbled over his words, Lazarus shook his head, knowing Hanta wouldn't understand.

"All it took to find my conviction was being stabbed in an alleyway, I'll be home soon." Lazarus lowered the phone from his ear, beginning the walk home, ignoring the trail of blood he left behind him.

"Okay well I'll be there- wait, hold on again? Lazarus? Lazarus did you get stabbed in another alley? Damn it Lazarus!" Hanta faint voice cried from the phone in Lazarus's hand, Lazarus quickly hit the end call button, taking a moment to roll his eyes before slipping his hands into his pockets and returning to the street.

Lazarus noticed that his shoulders were wide and strong, his chin held high, his legs were sturdy and his mind was sharp. Lazarus was momentarily ashamed at his prior behavior, now that he had given voice to the words he should have said long ago, but he pushed that doubt away. Today he would be reborn, today he had found his conviction.

Tomorrow, he would reflect; the day after, he would train; and then he would take the first steps to become a hero.

Or die.

* * *

Lazarus pushed his hair out of his face, feeling protected from the early morning air by a thick black wool jacket as he reaffirmed his resolution in front of the massive closed gate that led to UA. Hanta stood beside him, tired and cold, complaining.

"The exam doesn't start for another few hours! The school isn't even open yet!" Hanta groaned as Lazarus took a seat, crossing his legs in front of the gate.

"Then we have time to prepare ourselves. We must be prepared for the trial we are about to undergo, after all, our preparation will determine if we will succeed, or fail." Lazarus felt the fire in his gut still alight, though noticeably dimmer than when he had awoken to it two days ago.

"Seriously man? What are you? Who are you?" Hanta sighed as he flopped onto the ground beside lazarus, curling into a ball to ward off the pre-sunrise chill, "I miss the philosophical Lazarus, he wouldn't have gotten me up this early." Hanta mumbled as Lazarus couldn't help but laugh, wrapping an arm around Hanta and giving him a hug.

"Come on man! Like you were even sleeping, I was such an anxious mess last night, I'm not sure I even slept at all." Lazarus poked Hanta in the side, causing Hanta to push away from him.

"Fine! So I wasn't sleeping, but at least I was more relaxed then I am now!" Hanta pouted as he placed his head in between his knees.

"Excuse me?" A feminine voice interrupted the two of them, Lazarus and Hanta both looked at each other with confusion for a second, before turning around. Instantly, Lazarus felt his face go red, and he could feel the heat radiating off of Sero's own face beside him.

The woman before them was unlike anything Lazarus had seen before. She had a skintight white outfit that seemed to be about as durable and thick as tissue paper, black heels and a black leather corset with a strap leading up distractingly through her cleavage, (which Lazarus tried his hardest not to let his gaze linger on.) She had long black hair and a red pair of glasses on her head which Lazarus highly doubted were actually prescription lenses. After taking a moment to process what exactly he was looking at, as well as remembering his initial thoughts about Hanta's powers, Lazarus wondered whether on not everyone in Japan did in fact have a night job working at a BDSM dungeon.

If the woman had any issues with the two of them gazing at her body, she didn't show it, she simply smiled, holding a cardboard box in her arms. Her blue eyes flickered idly from Lazarus to Hanta every few seconds.

"Would either of you two boys," She purred, the smile on her face growing slightly more innocent, "Mind helping me set some things up inside? Since you've come so early, I promise you'll be done before the exam starts, and I'd be really thankful for the extra set of hands." The woman winked at Lazarus, causing Lazarus to instantly forgo his careful preparation and rise instantly to his feel. Hanta bolted up just as quickly putting a foot in front of Lazarus to keep himself closer to the lady.

"Midnight-san!" Hanta choked out. Lazarus looked at him with surprise, he momentarily entertained the thought that his BDSM conspiracy theory held some water, and then fell back on the much more logical conclusion that she was a teacher at UA and a pro hero.

Lazarus put his elbow in front of Hanta's chest and pushed back, causing Hanta to lose his balance due to his poor foot positioning, "Midnight-san." Lazarus copied Hanta, "I'm sure we'd both be happy to help!" Lazarus glanced back at Hanta, whose animosity towards Lazarus quickly turned to thankful agreement.

Midnight paused, placing a hand on her cheek, "Oh! Thank you! But I don't want you to lose your place in line, I'll only need one of you young boys to give me a hand." As Midnight spoke, she caressed her cheek slowly. Lazarus glanced behind him and saw the exact same thought he was having go through Hanta, this was a race, and Lazarus was closer to the finish line. Hanta turned his head and accepted that Lazarus had won.

Lazarus turned and put on his most winning smile, "I-" Lazarus began, stepping forward and lifting his arm, causing the knife strapped to his chest to shift, poking at where his heart was suppose to be, causing him to pause.

" _Take that blade as a reminder of your conviction…"_

Lazarus sighed, accepting that being a hero sucked.

"I, am sure that Hanta will be able to give you all the help you need, I need to focus on preparing myself for the exam, respectfully." As Lazarus spoke, each word hurt him deep within the part of his mind was responsible for hormones.

Midnight smiled, her eyes locking onto Hanta, who smiled back as he stroked up to Lazarus.

"I take it back, I like this Lazarus way more." Hanta whispered as he swiftly moved to stand beside Midnight.

Midnight gently handed the box off to Hanta. Hanta grunted as he took the box, clearly surprised at the weight; However, when Midnight placed a hand Hanta's shoulder, Hanta suddenly seemed to carry the box without any problem at all. As they both moved towards the gate, Midnight held out a tiny ID card, the gate opened slid open, allowing her and Hanta to pass.

"Good luck prepping!" Midnight called out behind her, turning over her shoulder to look at Lazarus.

Lazarus froze, Midnights face was twisted, her blue eyes alight with a desire Lazarus couldn't place as she licked her lips in a way that made him genuinely uncomfortable.

"I'll try and bring him back soon~" Midnight spoke, her voice taking on a sing-songy tone in the moment before the gate closed again, separating Lazarus from the two of them.

Lazarus wiped his brow, "you know," he mumbled to himself, "maybe I just dodged a bullet there."

Lazarus sat down, closing his eyes and centering his focus. He had never been one for meditation, but he hoped the exercise would calm his pounding heart.

He felt the air move around him, his mind quickly began to wander, no matter how much Lazarus tried to focus, he couldn't quite out-meditate his anxiety.

Lazarus delved deeper into his mind, trying to slow the beat of his heart for what felt like forever, trying to re-ignite his resolve.

"Oh, hello." Lazarus sighed as his shoulders sagged, his concentration broken again, he turned around to face the new voice.

Lazarus felt his brow shoot up in surprise, the man in front of him looked...wrong, incomplete. The man was like what Lazarus assumed he looked like when he was almost done coming back from the dead. The man' baggy suit looked expensive and well maintained, a sharp contrast against the figure wearing it. The man's hands were gaunt and withered, as if the skin had simply been pulled over bone, the muscle forgotten somewhere along the way. While the man's blond hair was a mess of loose strands jetting out into something that could have been called a fashion statement if his sunken eyes didn't give his entire head the sense that he had just crawled out of bed, or the morgue.

Lazarus tried not to stare at the man, while normally he had no problem making uncomfortably long eye contact with people, staring at this man made him feel… unwell. Lazarus had walked the narrow line between life and death his whole life, and every instinct told him this man was doing the same.

"G'morning sir." Lazarus replied quickly, purposefully avoiding looking directly at the man's face. Lazarus dreaded the man was going to ask for money or a drink, but he simply stood there.

"You do know you are a little early for today's exam." As the man spoke, Lazarus tilted his head.

"You a Pro Hero?" Lazarus questioned, the man froze for a second, as if he was caught off guard by the question.

"W-what makes you say that young man?" The man asked, stopping afterwards to cough loudly into his hand, the cough was dry and sickly; it reminded Lazarus of sounds that he'd heard, that he'd rather have stay forgotten.

"Well you certainly aren't a student." Lazarus delivered dryly, looking anywhere but directly at the man in front of him, occasionally flickering his eyes across the man's face as to not seem overly rude.

The man paused, and then began laughing, Lazarus was surprised, it was a deep and merry laugh, the kind of laugh that you only ever heard across a crowded room, a laugh so genuine and happy that just hearing it made you happy. The man put a hand to the back of his neck and smiled, revealing a row of pearly white teeth that almost completely overwrote the sickness in his eyes.

"Very astute young man! I am Toshinori Yagi, I am a...administrative assistant to All Might!" Toshinori bowed slightly, Lazarus stood and brushed himself off.

"Wow, so you're, like, All Might's underpaid, but overworked intern right?" Lazarus grinned as he mimicked the bow, wondering if the press knew All Might worked his staff till they looked like Toshinori did, "Pleasure's all mine Yagi-san. You can just call me Lazarus, everyone does, because it's my name." Lazarus spoke slowly, stretching out his arms and legs as he did, trying not to put too much snark in his voice, he didn't want the end of his dreams to come from getting into a fight with a sick man outside of UA.

Toshinori coughed, again, clearly a little taken aback by Lazarus's comment, "Ah, well, I'd like to think my responsibilities are a little more important, but I suppose it's one way to think about it," Toshinori stood still for a moment, clearly trying to come up with some more small talk before heading inside, "So, you're here for the exam?"

Lazarus grinned and raised his fist, opening and closing it with as much energy as he could muster, "I'm not here for the view, that's for sure. I'll be sure to see you around UA after I get in." Toshinori chuckled.

"Confident in your success?" Toshinori asked, Lazarus shrugged.

"I guess I've learned these last few days that there's no use wasting energy on planning for failure," Lazarus cracked his neck audibly, causing the blond in front of him to wince, "If I make victory the only possibility in my mind, then I can put all my energy towards that goal, only then will I have done everything I could do to succeed, and I can accept the results regardless."

Toshinori nodded, "That is a good way to think about it!" Toshinori raised a single thumb in front of him, "I'll be rooting for you, Lazarus, was it?" Lazarus nodded, and Toshinori joined him for a moment, before they both returned to stillness.

However, Toshinori clearly felt like he was on a roll, "So! Have you heard the rumors that All Might is teaching at UA this year?"

Lazarus sat down again, he needed to get back to his meditation, he'd only started it two days ago and he knew every moment he wasted not doing it was another moment he couldn't reach enlightenment, or tranquility, or stabbing-nirvana, or whatever the hell Stain said meditation was suppose to help him do, "Yeah, well, you're here so it's gotta be true."

Toshinori blinked, as if he hadn't expected Lazarus to make the incredibly simple leap in logic, "Very, astute!" Toshinori locked his arms behind his head, still smiling, "Admit it, you came early to try and get a glimpse of him, didn't you?" Toshinori grinned and looked down the street as if searching for something or someone.

Lazarus sat passively, Toshinori grin widened as he continued, "You know, maybe you'll get lucky and you'll be able to see a glimpse of him, he should arrive shortly-" Lazarus groaned and shook his head, interrupting Toshinori.

"No offense to you, but I have zero interest in seeing All Might, actually." Lazarus spoke bluntly as he closed his eyes, trying to recenter his breath, hoping Toshinori wouldn't push the issue.

Toshinori however, clearly didn't pick up on the hint, "Ah, too nervous are you? If you want, I'm sure I could get a signature-" As Toshinori spoke, Lazarus stood suddenly and stared Toshinori dead in the eyes, the unsettling feeling in his gut forgotten.

"Let me be clear, I have no interest in All Might as a celebrity, a hero or a person." Lazarus grinded his teeth as he saw Toshinori physically be taken aback, "Look, I'm sure he's a great guy, maybe. And no one can argue he's 'saved' lots of lives, but to me? All Might is an egotistical representation of everything that is dooming society to an eventual, violent collapse."

As Lazarus sat back down, Toshinori seemed suddenly very meek as he tapped his two index fingers together and looked at the ground, "I mean, you are free to have any opinion you want young Lazarus, I can't force you to like All Might."

Lazarus took a deep breath, he felt a little bit like an ass for insulting someone a nice guy like Toshinori clearly looked up to, but Lazarus defended himself with the reminder that Toshinori had pushed the issue. Lazarus shuffled on his behind as to no longer face the blond man. Toshinori made no move to enter the gates to UA or walk away, Lazarus tried to focus on his breathing again, but found it impossible knowing Toshinori's sad eyes were burrowing into his back. Lazarus turned to face Toshinori again, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible.

Toshinori seemed to snap out of a trance, suddenly becoming aware of the face Lazarus was returning his gaze, "It's just, not that you can't feel the way you feel…" Lazarus made a gesture for the blond to just spit it out, "What problems do you have with the Symbol of Peace?" Lazarus bolted up and snapped his fingers, pointing at Toshinori.

"That, that's the problem I have with All Might." When Toshinori still looked confused, Lazarus failed to resist the urge to roll his eyes before he continued, "His name! All Might is fine, nothing wrong with that, it's his self-proclaimed title; the Symbol of Peace!" Lazarus threw his hands up in exasperation, Toshinori coughed and held up a finger to point something out.

"He didn't give himself the title, it was given to him." Lazarus groaned as he swatted away Toshinori's comment as if it was a fly.

"Fine, but he acknowledged the title and cultivated it. He's walking around inspiring people, growing his legend wherever he goes, spreading the cult of All Might. He's made it so that he is the one and only, true, Symbol of Peace. That is a fact." Lazarus began to pace, the calmness from his previous meditation completely thrown out the window.

"I wouldn't call it a cult." Toshinori interjected.

"I would." Lazarus responded instantly. Sighing as he recomposed himself, slightly, "You want to know why symbols are so damn important to people?" Lazarus's voice took on a dictating tone as he spoke down to Toshinori. Toshinori frowned.

"Educate me." Toshinori crossed his arms, clearly irritated at Lazarus's tone, but also a little curious at where Lazarus was going with this.

"The flag, that's a symbol." Lazarus began, "A statue; a memorial; the dove, the species, not an individual mind you; and a blue sky. What do all these things have in common?" Lazarus paused, when Toshinori made no move to interact, Lazarus continued, "I'll tell you, they're timeless. A statue can outlive dynasties and empires, and if it falls, it can be rebuilt. And while humans have tried pretty damn hard accidentally, without a collective effort, we're not going to make doves go extinct any time soon; and even if we did, honestly, it would just become a really fitting metaphor for what we do with peace. The symbols meaning would change, but the symbol wouldn't. Do you get what I mean?" Lazarus took a moment to breathe.

"All Might is a good hero, the best damn hero ever, but he's made one fatal flaw." Lazarus bit his tongue as he realized this was his last chance to back out without showing his hand to Toshinori. Lazarus shook the impulse away, he had never been one to not finish what he started.

"All Might is mortal. All Might, will die." Lazarus spoke without inflection, or emotion, it wasn't an argument, it was a fact.

"..." Toshinori said nothing, all his attention on Lazarus.

"Maybe it won't be soon, or maybe it will be. A villain gets a lucky hit in, or maybe, god help us all, a villain more powerful than All Might arises. Or maybe in ten or twenty years All Might just retires because of arthritis or something else old people get." Lazarus felt himself get into the zone, "Then what happens? You know what happens? I'll tell you, what happens. The Symbol of Peace? Dies." Lazarus stood still, his feet planted as he was well aware he was more talking at Toshinori then to him at this point, but it felt so good to get it off his chest after weeks of listening to All Might worship from Hanta.

"All Might dies, like everything, like everyone. The universe always moves towards entropy, and not even a 'Detroit Smash' can change that undisputable fact. All Might has taken all the responsibility of a symbol. For an entire generation, All Might is indisputably the glue that holds their world, the world of heroes, together." Lazarus narrowed his eyes.

"It's not healthy, and don't fool yourself; it's not good for society. All Might is the world's happy-pill, as long as they get their dose of that smiling slab of meat, they stay docile and nice and don't break the law. But when he's gone? What then? What will the world do when their supply is swiftly cut off." Lazarus moved into Toshinori's personal space, suddenly imagining he was talking to All Might himself and not Toshinori's sickly form. In his head, he could almost see All Might's bright blond hair and striking features in Toshinori's own visage.

"When All Might dies, not if, when. When that happens, society will break, the world will descend into anarchy, and all those lives All Might 'saved?' they'll be lost too in the resulting riots and uprise of villainy from the shadows his death creates. Because the Heroes of the world rely on All Might as the pinnacle of their existence just as much as the citizens do, All Might is the overprotective mother who never taught her kids to live on their own without her." Lazarus found himself nearing the end of his rant, he had one more push left.

"Because All Might's symbol never stopped crime, it just kept the people frozen in fear; Furthermore, there is a massive number of people out there who have always wanted to break the law, but are too afraid of the Symbol to dare go through with it, so it's not just going to be as if the symbol never existed when All Might dies, no, it'll be ten times worse." Lazarus growled.

"We don't face the evil in our society, we hide it away and pretend it doesn't exist and only focus on the good things, 'smiling through the fear.' and crap like that," Lazarus mocked All Might's fearless smile with a toothy sarcastic one of his own, "They sit there, helpless against their own brains, hoping that our heroes protect us from the bad thoughts so we don't ever have to deal with them ourselves. If our neighbor becomes a villain, that's not because there's something wrong with society, or the area, or the environment he grew up in, he was just a bag egg that the Heroes quickly removed, like a tumor, from society before the poison could spread." Lazarus stomped his foot feeling his emotions guiding his words.

"All Might is a modern day frickin Atlas, holding up society on his back." Lazarus closed his eyes and rubbed his temple, turning his face away from Toshinori, "I just feel like I'm the only one preparing for when he drops the ball." Lazarus finished, his chest feeling lighter, but his gut feeling guilty for pinning all his rage on Toshinori.

As Lazarus looked slightly up at Toshinori's face, he was given pause. Toshinori's face was twisted into sorrow, his mouth was a thin tight line and his eyes were filled with shadows, yet still somehow struck with grief, "You… You worry often about this?" Toshinori spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lazarus looked away, unable to meet Toshinori's eyes, "No." Lazarus said simply. He could feel Toshinori's surprise.

"Not anymore, I mean, as I said, everyone dies eventually, it's not something I can do anything about, so it kinda just makes me angry when I think about it. It's not like I think I could do All Might's job better than he can, or that I think he's done all of this out of stupidity or malice." Lazarus tried to piece together the fragments of his thoughts left in a way that made sense, "Society is screwed, and All Might didn't screw over society, he tried his best to make the most out of what he was given, and he did a damn good job keeping things in line, and holding the title of a living symbol for so long...and now I feel like a little bit of an jackass for badmouthing him after all the hard work he's done." Lazarus sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, his more rational emotions returning to him.

Toshinori suddenly pulled him into a hug, Lazarus almost kneed him in the gut, but thankfully caught himself before he did anything rash. Lazarus didn't know how to respond, so he just gently patted him on the back, trying not to cause a coughing fit in the sickly man.

Toshinori released him and smiled that brilliant smile of his, "You are far too cynical for your age, young man. Leave such thoughts about death and ruin to the old."

Lazarus laughed, "You aren't the first to tell me that." Lazarus paused for a moment, then smiled worriedly, "Uh, you're not going to tell your boss about anything I said, right?" Lazarus swallowed a lump in his throat when Toshinori began smiling deviously, "I mean, I'd hate to have one of the teachers hate me if I get accepted into the school, er, for when I get accepted, I mean." Lazarus began to ramble before Toshinori placed a firm hand on Lazarus's shoulder and gave a surprisingly firm squeeze, winking as he lifted a finger to his lip.

"I'll keep this our little secret, young Lazarus." As Toshinori finished, Lazarus relaxed.

"I owe you one Toshi- uh, ehem, Yagi-san." Lazarus quickly corrected himself, hoping Toshinori didn't catch the informal slip.

Toshinori simply chuckled one last time as he walked by Lazarus and held a keycard to the gate, opening it instantly. Toshinori turned one last time to Lazarus, giving a little wave, which Lazarus returned as the gate shut, leaving Lazarus alone once more.

Lazarus smiled, then returned to neutral, his emotions finally finding balance again. Lazarus sunk to the ground, returning to his cross legged position as he placed his hands on his knees naturally. Lazarus took a deep breath in, then slowly released it.

He understood what he needed to do now, his rant had inadvertently taught him the power of meditation, the power of gathering tension and finding blissful release. For now he would gather his emotions, his wild and untamed thoughts and turn them to kindling, and when the time was right, he would ignite them.

And then his conviction would burn brighter than the sun.


	5. Exams and Executions

**Sup everyone! It's me, BenchBeYolking, back with another chapter of Taxes and Taxes! Everybody say HEEEEYYYYY.**

 **...**

 **Terrible references aside, we're finally moving onto some meat for the story! I'm sorry for the slightly shorter chapter this time, but it was the only way I could put something out this week and still pass my classes and work. Things have calmed down now and expect regular sized chapters again next week.**

 **Thank you to everyone who's followed the story, I'm overjoyed at how many of you seem to be enjoying Lazarus's tale! I look forward to telling more of it in the future!**

 **Be sure to leave a review if you have anything to say, I'll try and answer any questions people have, or just silently thank you for any compliments or criticisms!**

 **I've blabbed on enough, it's finally time for the UA exam, and to tell that story...**

 **I'll let the chapter speak for itself.**

* * *

"So, she didn't do anything weird?" Lazarus asked for the third time, concern draped over his words. He tried to watch his step as the two of them walked down the long concrete pathway leading to the front of UA, Lazarus inconspicuously running his hand along every bench and tree they passed, literally trying to get a feel for the place.

If Hanta minded the repeated question, he didn't show it on his face, a blissful smile and a relaxed posture simply radiated from Hanta, as if he had just come from cloud nine as he sauntered down the path with Lazarus, "No, nothing at all, I helped her set up some tables and move some chairs, then I used my quirk to reseal the box. She reminded me that using my quirk like that was illegal and while she appreciated it, she'd have to punish me if I did it again." Hanta glanced over at Lazarus who, on his part, had both of his eyebrows raised while his mind screamed concern over stranger danger. Hanta lightheartedly shoved him, causing Lazarus to laugh and wiggle his evebrows.

Hanta groaned, "She didn't do anything man! I finished soon afterwards, then she gave me a hug and sent me off, told me I could come let you in early if I wanted as a reward." As Hanta finished, a light blush was evident on his face. Lazarus relaxed, confident his friend had not been violated.

"You sure that's the only reward she offered you?" Lazarus grinned, certainly not willing to let Hanta off the hook just yet. Hanta threw his hands up and quickest his pace, putting a few steps between himself and Lazarus, "Aw! Buddy! Come back!" Lazarus laughed as he called after Hanta, who was pointedly ignoring him.

Lazarus grinned, but then shivered as he thought of Hanta walking away earlier, if he ever saw Midnight make that face again, it would be hopefully only be in his nightmares. He took a moment to look around, taking in the sparse yet lovely entryway. Trees now more consistently lined each side of the concrete pathway leading to the grand doors of the school, while the massive glass-looking building towered overhead, from the angle Lazarus had, it felt like looking at a massive H, fitting for a hero academy in Lazarus's books. The early morning sun had finally come across the schoolground, filling the entire area with a hallowed glow, causing the skin on Lazarus's neck to tingle at the slight change in temperature. Hanta seemed to be just as caught in the moment of awe.

Breaking his gaze away from the school with a quick shake of his head, Lazarus looked ahead at a boy walking back towards them, the boy seemed to be in his own world, looking down at his feet. Lazarus called out to the mystery boy, excited to finally see another face around, "No fair, I thought we were the first ones here!"

The boy seemed taken aback by Lazarus's comment, but quickly recovered, lifting his head to reveal that his teeth were on the outside of his lips, actually, it appeared as if he had no lips at all, "Good morning! I thought the same." The boy replied, waving as he changed direction slightly, turning as to arrive in front of Hanta and Lazarus. The three of them stood there, each taking a second to silently greet the other.

"What are you doing here so early? I thought examinees weren't allowed in yet?" Hanta asked, Lazarus cocked his head and nodded, curious himself as to how the boy got here.

The boy pointed a thumb behind him, "I'm Juzo Honenuki, and I'm not taking the exam today, I was lucky enough to receive a recommendation UA accepted. I'm just filling out some paperwork." As Juzo finished, Lazarus shot Hanta a look that silently said 'that's a thing?' Hanta nodded, and Lazarus quietly groaned, some people just got all the luck.

"I'm Lazarus, Juzo-kun, nice to...meet you?" As Lazarus spoke, Hanta was giving him the 'stop talking' eyes, while Juzo looked taken aback, "what?" Lazarus asked. Hanta smacked him upside the head and stepped forward. Purposefully blocking Lazarus's view of Juzo.

"Uh, forgive Lazarus-kun, Honenuki-kun, he's still learning about Japan." Lazarus glared at Hanta, rubbing the admittedly painless spot on his head as he stood up straight, still not quite sure what he did to warrant Hanta stepping in, he had even used honorifics! Lazarus huffed, who even called people by their last names? That was like calling him Mr. Poe. Only one man deserved that name, and it sure as hell wasn't him or his father.

Juzo laughed and waved a hand, clearly accepting Hanta's explanation, "It's fine, that explains why you look a little lost, you can call me Juzo if it's easier for you to remember." Lazarus smiled outwardly, but was inwardly unsure of why he would need permission to call someone by their given name.

Lazarus leaned on Hanta's shoulder, putting a little too much weight on Hanta as a petty form of vengeance, "Well, good luck getting out there, by the time Hanta- oh, sorry, Sero-kun, here let me in, a crowd had already begun to form! I imagine it's only gotten worse out there." Lazarus spoke, leaning more and more onto Hanta until Hanta, clearly fed up with Lazarus's behaviour, suddenly ducked, causing Lazarus to topple over onto the ground, where he laid indignantly.

After a moment, Juzo chuckled, waving as he stepped over Lazarus's prone form and began to leave, "Good luck on the exam today! I hope I'll see you two around!" As Juzo left, Lazarus stood, sighing, while politely waiting for Hanta to stop waving and turn.

"I feel like I've already risen up enough today...and I haven't even died yet." Lazarus lamented as he rubbed his knees. Feeling a little tension in his joints. Hanta smiled, but with a hint of sadness to the expression, "What? Something up Hanta?"

Hanta turned away and stretched his arms, avoiding Lazarus's eyes, "Well, this is where we part ways." As Hanta spoke, Lazarus squinted in confusion, before he understood.

Lazarus looked towards the top of UA, nodding, "Oh yeah, we've gotta do our sign up at different locations, right? I guess I won't see you again till after the exam." Lazarus turned back to Hanta, watching as he avoided any direct eye contact.

"Well yeah, but then you're moving out, right?" Hanta spoke slowly, twisting his heel on the ground as he scratched his hair, Lazarus shrugged.

"Well I mean, you're not getting rid of me until after I get the results for the exam, then yeah, I've got a place lined up, I'm not going to inconvenience you guys more then I have to." Lazarus scratched the back of his own neck, also not wanting to look at Hanta directly, "Don't tell me you're going to miss me?" Lazarus tried to throw in a joke, only to turn to see Hanta thrusting a box in his face.

Lazarus took it, looking over the tape covered object, Lazarus looked at Hanta and smirked.

"I was going to give it to you when you were going to leave, but uh, I figured now's a good a time as ever, but good luck opening it..." Hanta shuffled his feet as Lazarus reached down his shirt and pulled out Stain's knife, shocking Hanta,

"Did you smuggle a knife in here? Are you trying to get yourself expelled?" Hanta screeched as quietly as possible as he looked around for anyone who could see them. Lazarus shrugged.

"Can't get expelled for a school I've never been accepted to." With that, Lazarus cut open the box and slipped the knife back into the sheath under his shirt. Only to find there was another layer of tape underneath, irritated, Lazarus looked at Hanta, who whistled innocently, still looking for anyone else around them. This time, Lazarus didn't bother with the knife, trying to tear the tape by hand if only to easy Hanta's mind. After a little struggling and a lot of swearing, he finally managed to strip the final layer off, Lazarus took a moment to catch his breath as he shifted the plain cardboard box in his hand. He quickly opened it to reveal the gift buried inside.

"More tape?" Lazarus questioned, holding the small roll of adhesive strips in his hand. Lazarus raised an eyebrow at Hanta, who chuckled nervously.

"To remind you of me when you're gone." Hanta grinned, Lazarus stood still for a moment, before he embraced Hanta. Lazarus began laughing, Hanta joined him soon after.

"I'm going to miss you man." Lazarus spoke as he ended the hug, holding Hanta at arm's length. He nodded, returning the sentiment without words.

The two stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say or do, until Hanta stepped away and began slowly moving to the stairs of the main building, Lazarus paused and watched him go, smiling the whole time.

"You, probably have to go to the building too, right?" Hanta spoke, awkwardly turning around while still moving farther away from Lazarus.

"I don't want to ruin the moment, you go, I'll wait until you get in there." Lazarus dramatically stood still, Hanta smiled one last time and then ran towards the building, clearly trying to make Lazarus wait as little as possible, even if it did ruin the atmosphere.

Lazarus rolled his eyes as Hanta vanished from his sight, but paused for a moment longer, looking around at the UA courtyard, taking in every sight and sound around him.

"Soon." He spoke to himself, a silent affirmation of his intentions.

Clicking his heels together once, Lazarus began to stroll towards the main entrance, he knew it was almost time for the check in to begin, and he would not let himself fail this exam due to an error in his paper work.

* * *

"Everybody say. Hey!" President Mic (whom Lazarus suspected didn't actually hold any official office in the government) blasted from the bottom of the auditorium space. Lazarus winced, sticking a pinkie in his ear to stop the ringing caused by the vibrations in the room.

Dead silence followed President Mic's announcement, Lazarus would have felt bad; but A, President Mic sounded incredibly enthusiastic on a day that for a good majority of the assembled students would kill any hope they ever had of achieving their dreams; and B, school speakers who tried too hard to be cool always met the same unavoidable fate.

As President Mic tried to recover from the crippling nothingness that followed his passionate plea for interaction, Lazarus sat back in his seat and locked his arms behind his head, his mind wandering as he look at the pamphlet he had picked up at the desk out front, tuning out President Mic to the best of his ability, which was not an easy task to achieve.

"One pointers are one wheeled death machines with machine guns; two pointers are four legged death machines with a tail; and three pointers are literally just robot tanks with missile launchers, which last time I checked, are in fact classified as death machines." Lazarus groaned as he tried to formulate a strategy against something he'd never fought before off of the limited, blurry, pictures he had.

Lazarus glanced down at his feet, taking his cubed heart into his hand as he felt anxiety begin to replace his former calm confidence. He leaned over to the boy beside him, a blond kid with a noticeable twinkle in his eye.

"Some test, eh? Surprised they don't end up killing their students." Lazarus scoffed, trying to make some small talk. The boy turned, seemingly off in his own world.

"Yes, monsieur! This test is going to be tres difficult." The boy flamboyantly replied, tossing his hair to one side as he did.

Lazarus slowly leaned away from the boy, he had a hard enough time speaking Japanese, he was not going to throw French into the mix today.

Licking his lips, Lazarus put his attention back on President Mic, he needed every advantage he could find if he was going to pass this exam. His written marks were sure to be middling at best, he'd need to pull double duty in the practical.

"You don't need to be the best, you just need to be good enough for now." Lazarus tried to assure himself, squeezing his cube for support and luck. Lazarus looked around the room again, taking in for a brief moment every face, every person, that he could see. They were his enemies, the people who would stand before him and his conviction, his antagonists who would stop him from his dream; Yet, they were also dreamers themselves, each person doing what they felt they could to find happiness.

Lazarus pushed the unpleasant thought of his dream being realized meaning the end of someone else's from his mind, as he reminded himself of the work he had done.

"I have done all I can do. I've committed myself, I've trained and I prepared to give one hundred percent. I cannot control the outcome, only my readiness to face it." Lazarus relaxed slightly further, letting his self confidence grow as he tried to release his tension.

Lazarus tucked his knees into his chest, spending the rest of the speech focused on his breathing. Letting President Mic's waves pulse over him in time with his own heartbeat.

* * *

Lazarus drunk in the air. He let it move through his veins, pierce the very bottom of his soul, felt the skin respond as his heart pounded in his back pocket. The rush of sound and air cycled throughout him, and Lazarus felt alive.

No one could be more sure then he was that there was no time left to entertain doubt or worry about his abilities, his fate was now entirely in how well he could execute this exam with his skills.

As the group around him shifted, Lazarus knew he had to become present in the moment. The training ground was massive, cold concrete walls towering into the sky before an open gate, located a mere short jog away from where they had all gathered. The gate was surrounded by a massive archway, looming intensely over the comparatively tiny students below, though the open passage, Lazarus felt the wind funneled down from above as it whipped across his body, sending spikes of child through him. He could see the cityscape sprawling behind it, looking completely ordinary with its quaint shops and cookie-cutter offices, if not for the massive walls that kept it separate from the outside world, Lazarus would have thought the training area was a gateway to another town.

"Damn, so this is what student tuition go towards." Lazarus chuckled as he drifted around the examinees outside, he compulsively checked his watch, making sure he still had a few minutes before the test started. He reasoned that they would give some sort of warning right before the exam began, so he could risk shaking off some nerves before he did his pre-exam breathing exercises.

"I'm saying that the exam leaves so many wonderful quirks unrepresented." A smooth voice spoke from somewhere behind Lazarus. He turned, searching for the speaker, his eyes landing on a blond haired boy with grey eyes. The boy was casually shrugging, his entire body relaxed in a way that contrasted heavily against the nervous tension that surrounded the area. Lazarus glanced at his speaking partner, who couldn't have looked more different with his grey hair and rigid posture.

Lazarus relaxed his own posture as he walked closer, leaning into the conversation slightly, straining to hear more in a way that didn't make him seem creepy. The grey haired boy frowned, his hands locked at his side, clearly agitated at the blond's words.

"The test is perfectly fair! It's a great way for the trained and ready to show off their power and potential for growth! Those who haven't prepared won't pass!" The grey haired boy proclaimed, his voice a little louder than necessary to get the point across to the blond standing a foot away. The blond boy scoffed.

"This test promotes a certain kind of quirk, flashy and physically destructive, but I know of a few truly devastating quirks that would be rendered utterly worthless against hunks of metal. Most true villains aren't robotic, you know." As the blond boy spoke, Lazarus was torn. The boy made some good points, but he spoke with such an arrogant candor in his words that Lazarus almost couldn't stand to listen to him.

The grey haired boy parted his lips, revealing jagged, sharp teeth, "How else are they suppose to evaluate our abilities? They're putting everyone on an equal playing field, no one has any advantages going in!" As the grey haired boy finished, Lazarus couldn't help interject.

"I agree." Lazarus smiled as the two boys turned to look at him, Lazarus stuck his hands in his pocket as he tilted his head, "Life's kinda unfair, you can't eliminate the natural advantages some quirks have over others, and you can't really punish people for having a more suitable quirk." Both boys turned to each other, and for a moment Lazarus worried that he was going to be rejected from the little group publicly, but then the blond turned to him and smiled cockily.

"I suppose, but just because there is no obvious solution, it doesn't make my criticisms of the system any less valid." As the blond finished, Lazarus and the grey haired boy both nodded. Lazarus saw his chance to start networking.

"I'm Lazarus Poe, but please, just call me Lazarus, nice to meet you two." Lazarus crossed his legs at the knees and bowed dramatically, instantly wondering why he could never just do a normal introduction.

The grey haired kid turned his head and looked him up and down, as if grading his performance, before nodding forcefully, "I'm Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu."

Lazarus nodded politely as he waited for the grey haired boy to continue introducing himself, "gesundheit."

After a moment of dead silence, Lazarus slowly glanced from one boy to the other, drinking in the awkward silence as all of them wore a mask of confusion. Lazarus suddenly understood.

"Oh, oh! Not a sneezing fit then, that was your name!" Lazarus exclaimed, proud at his own conclusion, before slamming a hand over his own mouth and swearing quietly in English, turning the panicked gesture into a smoothing of his hair, "I uh, I mean, wow, that's sure a, unique… and interesting name, Testussestus." Lazarus spoke, feeling the name falling apart in his mouth, getting slightly quieter with every syllable.

"Tetsutetsu. Tetsutetsu." Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu slowly pronounced his own name.

"Testyoutestyou," Lazarus took a deep breath, "Tetsususutet." Lazarus repeated, his english mind struggling to make his lazy tongue work hard enough to not publicly embarrass himself. His English mind failed.

"Not even close." Tetsutetsu slowly and dryly responded, clearly unamused with the butchering of his name.

"Great to meet you Tet!" Lazarus clapped his hands together as he responded a little too enthusiastically.

"That's not my na-" Tetsutetsu tried to deny Lazarus, but before he could finish, the blond boy stepped forward and grinned widely.

"I am Neito Monoma." Neito spoke, looking Lazarus over as well, "You seem like you've already considered the nature of the exam, not many have. Is it from the perspective of one who's looking forward to it? No, your wording is self reflective. You're looking at it as one who's already at a disadvantage, aren't you?" As Neito spoke, Lazarus bit his lip. It was suddenly crystal clear to Lazarus that Neito wasn't just full of himself, he clearly had a brain behind those grey eyes.

"I'm past the point of being worried about if I'm at a disadvantage or not," Lazarus curtly replied, "My performance is what it is. I cannot be more than that for now, only work to do the most with what I have." Lazarus clenched his hand, feeling his breath center subconsciously. He looked back at Neito, who regarded him with a grin.

"Well, I suppose I should wish you the best, Lazarus-kun. Hopefully, I won't be the only one passing this exam of the three of us." Neito laughed as Lazarus glanced at Tetsutetsu, who only shrugged, clearly already getting use to Neito's antics. Lazarus smirked, enjoying the break from the anxiety of waiting.

"So, what're your guys's quirks-" Lazarus was cut off by an incredibly loud voice shouting at them from above. Lazarus, along with Tetsutetsu, Neito and the rest of the examinees all turned to face the speaker.

From the tower in the center of all the different training facilities, President Mic's voice somehow carried, "RUUUUUUN! Consider the baton tossed!" President Mic's voice washed over the suddenly silent crowd, his words reverberating in their ears.

Lazarus heard an explosion from farther off in the group as a spiky blond haired boy rocketed over his head, throwing himself forward and into the city, already first towards the archway.

Instantly, the spell over the crowd vanished, and all hell broke lose.

Lazarus felt his two conversation partners push by him as they bolted for the gate, or perhaps just away from the surging wave of young teens that had suddenly swelled behind them. Lazarus turned and bolted, faster than he'd ever felt himself move before, his momentary hesitation already replaced by sheer adrenaline.

The mob of panicked, fearful, and stressed teens behind him swelled into a wave, and as Lazarus risked a glance over his shoulder, he was only inspired to run faster. He heard others behind him who had tripped, or were simply too slow, scream in despair as they were swallowed by the crowd, their dreams of being a hero most likely already destroyed before they even reached the arena. Lazarus grimly realized the culling had already begun. Lazarus saw from his peripheral vision, some examenes had already overtaken him, some were in the air flying over the danger, and others were getting as close to breaking the sportsmanship rules as legally possible.

Lazarus sudden broke though the threshold of the gate, passing from the barren outside to the self-contained simulation of a city within. He slowed slightly as he tried to absorb the situation around him. Already, destruction was occurring, bots were dropping in crumpled heaps, and some people who had made it to the gate before him were turning tail and running, fear pushing them away from the battle.

For a moment, Lazarus felt doubt enter his mind. Suddenly, he was confronted with the fact he had truly entered another world, no longer was he a punk on a dark American street corner. Lazarus could only watch as Tetsutetsu turned his entire body into pure steel as he shattered the tail of a two point villain farther ahead, following it up with a downwards elbow into it's faceplate, causing the entire thing to cave, collapsing the massive construct, "Four points!" Tetsutetsu called out, Lazarus couldn't tell if he was bragging to everyone, intimidating the other test-takers, or simply trying to keep track out loud.

Lazarus's eyes moved a half-inch to the left, twisting his body to focus on the moving form of Neito, also turning his body into steel as he engaged an already weakened three pointer, quickly finishing it off with a few well aimed strikes, "Five points!" He declared, unlike Tetsutetsu, definitely bragging.

Lazarus felt more people move behind him, Lazarus knew deep down in his gut he couldn't compete with them, he would fail and then his dream would be over.

" _...Disappointing."_

Lazarus felt his conviction ignite.

Suddenly, Lazarus let a guttural, almost inhuman scream escape from his throat, the noise causing several other teens around him to jump back as Lazarus charged forward, his eyes locked on a one-point bot emerging from an alleyway. The bot was massive, easily over Lazarus's already taller size. A massive machine gun spun intimidatingly under one shielded claw, the other arm with a deadly pincer that could easily snap a person in two. A single red eye-camera on a long metal jointed neck quickly locked onto Lazarus as he approached, giving him the perfect view of his own enraged, twisted face warped in its dome-shaped eye.

" _A true hero will triumph over those with weaker conviction."_

In a dim, mostly unused part of Lazarus's brain, the part most people use for a rational fear of death and suffering, he received a the little-too-delayed impulse to remind him to come up with a reasonable plan before charging into a life-or-death scenario. That nagging was overwritten instantly by a scarily calm rage which consumed his mind, fully giving into his conviction.

" _I will become a hero, even if it kills me."_

Lazarus's own words echoed in his skull as he came within striking distance of the robot, this was his proving grounds.

The bot's mechanical voice spat out a cliche line, "I'll murder you!" It punctuated it's thought with a single massive swing of its machine gun toting arm.

Lazarus instantly transferred his weight to his back foot and threw his body out of the way, dodging the attack by a hair's width, before surging forward, ducking underneath the robotic arm, and leaping towards the midsection of the bot. Lazarus felt his hand wrap around the handle of a hatch on the body, while his legs clamped down on either side of the top of his wheels. With a mighty grunt, Lazarus tugged on the handle and felt the panel easily pop off. The bot twisted in a circle, trying to loosen Lazarus's death grip on its body.

Lazarus dropped the thin panel as he tried to keep his grip, glancing inside the robot's chest, surprised to see a mess of gears, turbines and wires meshed together, humming dangerously.

Faintly, Lazarus realized that most of these wires and cogs were most likely linked to important systems, and that if he was careful, he could probably figure out a way to disable the bot with a single deft gesture.

Lazarus was also very aware he didn't have time for deft or careful.

Without a moment of hesitation, Lazarus reached his right arm back and slammed it into the bot's open chest, his arm swallowed in between the grinding gears.

Lazarus felt a pained smile cross his face, the lazy nerves in his arms duly informed him of trouble as his arm was being ripped to shreds.

"You and I are a lot alike, huh robot?" Lazarus mused, distracting himself from the uncomfortable feeling in his arm as he felt the robot turn randomly shake with every shift Lazarus's hand made inside its innards.

"And if we're as alike as I think…" Lazarus continued as he felt his arm wrap around something electrified and warm within the metal shell. He couldn't help but laugh, "...then I know how to end you."

Forcing feeling back into his arm, Lazarus summoned all his power and pulled, bringing with him the small black power converter at the core of the robot's system. Almost instantly afterwards, he felt the robot freeze underneath him, before it slowly tilted back, sprawling lifelessly across the ground. For a second, Lazarus waited for it to jolt back to life and crush him, but then his mind realized what he had done.

Lazarus began to chuckle, feeling a sense of accomplishment and power move through him. As he stumbled off the corpse of the robot, leaving a trail of dark crimson behind him, seven more one pointer bots roared out of same alleyway. Lazarus tilted his head as they began to encircle him, trapping him within a circle.

"Nine more minutes listeners! You've already wasted one!" President Mic shouted from somewhere off in the distance.

Lazarus smiled, his chuckling growing a little more steady, "That's just great! I don't even have to go looking for you guys!" Lazarus glanced down at his arm, covered in deep gashes and bits of charred skin, he bent his arm at the elbow, confirming he could still use the limb. He flexed all the muscles left in his arm, and felt the metal power converter crumple, then shatter in his hand with a satisfying crunch. Lazarus raised his hands across his chest, sighing deeply.

"Well? I'm waiting." Lazarus taunted, leaning towards one of the bots before him.

His slight moment seemed to trigger the result he desired, all seven of the robots rushed him at once, Lazarus shifted his weight, raising his hands to cover his head, "Eight points seems like a good start!"

* * *

"Fourteen!" Lazarus cried, his arms both messes at his sides, his right arm was practically gone, bone visible in several places even underneath the constant flow of his blood, his eye was swollen shut and he couldn't move without a noticeable limp. He slumped to the wall, the still intact shells of his foes littered around him. Lazarus glanced away from the alley and back to the main street, the chaos had died down slightly, those that had decided to flee having gotten out of the way of those able to fight. He had gotten lucky by finding a spot where the bots had been bottlenecked right into his killzone, but he'd have to move if he wanted to keep getting points. Lazarus pushed the unhelpful thought that he had only gotten one point bots out of his mind. Looking around he knew he had no time to waste, he hated having to do it by his own hands, but he couldn't fight anymore with his arms like they were.

Slowly picking his body back off the ground, Lazarus shuffled his way towards one of the downed bots, hiding behind it as he took his cube out of his pocket and gingerly placed it on the ground beside him, before reaching into his shirt and pulling out Stain's knife. Lazarus raised it to his throat, swallowing down the uncomfortable lump that formed.

"Under the chin and through the throat, look out death, here I go." Lazarus spoke half-heartedly as he closed his eyes and thrust the dagger upwards, feeling his body rush with every chemical he could possibly release as his baser survival instincts tried to stop him from what he needed to do.

Then Lazarus took a deep breath in.

Lazarus was blind for several moments, his careful counting forgotten, disoriented and confused, before his eyes finished forming, once again granting him sight. He stood, his breathing ragged as he berated himself for losing concentration, he hadn't counted, he had just reformed. Lazarus quickly did a once over on his body, thankful that in his rushed hormone-driven reformation he hadn't formed anything improperly.

"Five minutes left listeners!" President Mic called out from somewhere in the distance, Lazarus didn't wait to hear any more, bolting towards where the action was, his body feeling as fresh as a daisy. Lazarus reached under his shirt, feeling for his cube in his chest, ripping it out quickly as he moved and slipping it into his pocket. He felt his body stumble for a moment, his power weakening as his heart got farther away from his chest. Lazarus shook his head to clear his thoughts, trying to refocus on his goal as he moved.

Screams tried to escape from Lazarus's mouth as he got to the intersection, the broken and scattered bodies of all different types of training bots were everywhere around him. He saw Tetsutetsu pop up like a gopher out of the center section of a three point bot.

"Thirty seven!" Tetsutetsu howled as he leaped out of the robot and onto another one.

Lazarus heard other numbers called out around him, most around the twenties on the low end and one in the forties on the high end. Lazarus bit his tongue as the examinees began to resemble vultures, swooping in on every remaining bot. Lazarus instantly realized if he wanted to pass, he couldn't be picky either. Lazarus locked onto an already damaged two pointer, still moving around aimlessly, as if it were shell-shocked.

Exhaling once, Lazarus leaped towards the robot, ready to tear it apart by any means necessary, however, yet again, he head an explosion behind him as a boy rocketed over his head and decimated the villain bot in a single strike.

"Out of my way!" The exploding boy shouted, not hesitating before leaping out to continue his spree.

Lazarus turned again, trying not to let desperation poison his mind. His eyes darted around the chaos, trying to find some opportunity within the ever-changing battlefield. Lazarus felt his eyes shrink as the ground shook beneath him, his body struggling to keep his balance.

The buildings around Lazarus vibrated, as a shadow descended over the entire group. He felt a single sentence bubble to the surface.

"Goddamn it! How much money does this frickin' school have?!" Lazarus cried as the massive robot used its hand to drag itself through the streets. Instantly, the mood changed, the group caught in the awe of the moment.

The massive bot's head glanced down at the group below, before bringing a single hand down, sending a massive shockwave down the street, shattering glass along the way, ripping up the road, and blowing away the unfortunate examenes too close.

A single instinct passed through the group, a single mob command programed into their very beings when confronted with such an overwhelming threat, the only reasonable option when fight wasn't possible. The mob took flight.

Except for Lazarus.

Lazarus confidently began walking in opposition to the crowd, paying no mind to the fleeing individuals who bumped into him as they passed by. He didn't fear death, the robot held no threat to him in his mind, the robot was in fact an opportunity. Lazarus walked towards an almost downed one pointer, both it's arms gone as it squirmed around on the ground. He ignored the slowly approaching tower as he grabbed a chunk of rubble and smashed the bot's head in, finishing it off quickly.

"Two minutes left listeners!" As the announcement reverberated over the sound of the approaching giant, Lazarus continued around the square, looking for any other almost-finished bots he could scavenge points from.

"Wonderful! So, I'm not the only one who wasn't dumb enough to throw away all these free points!" At the sound of the familiar voice, Lazarus glanced over his shoulder to see Neito finishing off a one pointer of his own.

"You should probably leave if you don't want to die." Lazarus spoke, trying to refocus on his search, doubling his speed now that he knew he had competition. Neito simply laughed.

"Is that a threat? I thought we were getting along!" Neito quickly dashed ahead of Lazarus, his leg turning metal as he crushed the head of a two pointer just as Lazarus noticed it.

Lazarus swore quietly, before looking at Neito and pointing at the massive robot that was ever creeping closer, "That's the threat, I'm just trying to be a nice guy." Lazarus mumbled as he moved away from Neito, who irritatingly turned around to scavenge the same area Lazarus had just switched to.

"Nice guy?" Neito mocked, quickly getting on Lazarus's nerves, "More like you want the spoils for yourself."

"Destroy target!" The robotic voice instantly snapped Lazarus out of his irritation, Nieto seemed far less worried than Lazarus was. Glancing at the pristine three pointer that had dug its way out from underneath the shells of several two and one pointers. Lazarus moved to avoid it, the blond boy simply turned his hands to metal.

"Sorry Lazarus, but you can't win by just taking other's leftovers, this is what it takes to get into UA!" Neito launched himself towards the three pointer, rearing back with a massive punch clearly intended to pierce the plated armor of the robot. Instead, a moment before impact, there was a distinct sound of a timer going off.

Lazarus cringed as the familiar noise of bones shattering pierced his ear, along with the sound of Neito screaming in pain. Lazarus's eyes were drawn to Neito's hand, red, crumpled, and noticeably not made of metal.

"Nonono!" Neito screamed, clutching his hand as tears streamed down his face, "I should have had more time! President Mic's countdown must be off!" As Nieto ranted to himself, the three pointer's massive rocket launchers on it's back swiveled to point squarely at Neito.

Lazarus's legs moved before he could even think. Adrenaline mixed with a swell of unnamable primal emotions, fear, anger, pity, empathy, sympathy all swirling in his mind as he reached down his shirt to draw Stain's knife, wielding the puny blade as if it were a mighty sword that could slice the robot in two.

"I'll give my life in place of his!" Lazarus cried, the words pouring out of his mouth in english as he lept, placing the blade in between his teeth as he grabbed onto the side of the robot with both his hands, scaling the bot in the blink of an eye, before leaping down onto it's head, furiously and ineffectively banging the knife against metal.

The bot paused for a moment, before the two pods of rockets on it's back lifted up on hydraulics, pointed down at Lazarus as he refused to let up his assault, the tiny blade pathetically clanging against the far thicker armor, Lazarus completely lost within his rage. With a mechanical click, the rockets inside the pod ignited, ready to blow Lazarus away.

Lazarus grinned, "Gotcha."

Lazarus rolled forwards, dropping off the head and hanging onto the front of the faceplate just as the missiles left their chambers, and smashed into the back of the robot's head. Lazarus couldn't see the damage, but as the robot slowly slumped forwards, Lazarus had a pretty good idea of how well his plan had worked.

"...only eighteen, huh?" Lazarus frowned, flexing his arms as he put Stain's knife back into it's safe place on his chest, turning to Neito, Lazarus smiled sadly, "How much you at pal?"

Neito blinked, no longer stunned by his pain, and clearly impressed by Lazarus's moves "Thirty five?" Neito spoke slowly, Lazarus laughed and whistled.

"Damn then, I suppose that settles that. Go on then." Lazarus turned and climbed up the three pointer, sitting cross legged at the top.

Neito froze, clearly confused by Lazarus's words, "I'm sorry?" Lazarus chuckled.

"I've done all I can do, it wasn't about passing, it was about proving my conviction to the world, to myself." Lazarus folded his arms across his lap as he watched the looming robot tear up the street just ahead of him, "I have no chance to pass at this point, so the least I can do is not drag you down with me." Lazarus waved his hand and tapped his wrist.

"Tick-tock, you've got sixty seconds left buddy. I'd use them…" Lazarus laughed as he turned to see Nieto was already long gone. Lazarus then felt his laughter die along with his dreams.

"Lock." Lazarus sighed as the massive baritone voice of the zero point robot shook the ground around him.

"Thirty seconds left!" President Mic called as Lazarus rose up to his feet, his legs wide and his arms out, as if inviting the zero pointer for a giant hug.

"Come on then," Lazarus cried, shifting his weight to the side, raising his hands into a fighting stance. His form entirely shadowed by the massive head that was now almost directly above him. The bot looked down, shifting the light above Lazarus to red, a spotlight directed solely on him.

The robot slowly reared back its arm, tightening its massive mechanical fingers into a fist, Lazarus mimicked its movements, the only difference between the two was the determined mirth on Lazarus's face.

"To the end!" Lazarus spoke, feeling his throat grow raw at the volume he was speaking at, in response, the massive hand came down as swiftly as a gavel, sentencing him to death.

Lazarus responded with a punch of his own, throwing his entire body behind the strike. Lazarus felt everything he had, pride and disappointment, acceptance and rejection, apathy and rage, and with all his might directed it into a single blow. For half a second, Lazarus's fist connected with the massive finger of the zero point bot, and Lazarus heard the satisfying sound of the metal creaking in pain.

Then the zero point robot's fist continued forward, and the entire street, every car, lamp, bench and the single person on it, was blown away.

"TIMES UP LISTENERS!"


	6. Projections and Passing

Hey everyone, been a while.

Sorry for not being super peppy like normal, but it's been a rough couple of weeks, I've been struggling to write anything, or really get anything done. Life has swallowed me up and spit me out. I'm trying really hard not to put this story on Hiatus, but big changes are occurring IRL that are making writing hard. I just wanted to get this chapter out, just to have it be done so if I have to take a break, I don't leave things kinda half-said.

Anyway, I'm really sorry for not communicating better, I'll try harder to be more open in the future, thank you all for understanding. My focus might turn to editing the first chapter or two to bring the quality up before I continue.

As always, every review is appreciated, I hope you all enjoy.

I'll let the chapter speak for itself.

* * *

" _Lich? Lich! Lazarus!" The feminine voice spoke quietly, but with force. Lazarus groaned, hearing the distinctive sound of a clock chime fading away. Sitting up, he grabbed at his side, an imaginary wound still bleeding inside his mind. He sighed, calming down the panicked rhythm of his breath. Lazarus glanced around the dark room, taking in the smell of wet wood and musty blankets, the tiny treehouse that he had built with his brother becoming more familiar by the second._

" _Ah, Newtonia." Lazarus mumbled, his own voice feeling distant and strained. Newtonia punched him in the shoulder._

" _Dumbass, it's Gemini unless you're sure no one else is around!" She hissed, the punch barely registered to Lazarus._

" _My dear stupid sister," Lazarus grinned, "You just called me Lazarus, so it's gotta be safe." Newtonia cringed, her round face scrunched in disbelief that the tables had so easily been turned on her._

 _The younger girl huffed and sat, Lazarus looked at her and grinned, "Respect your elders now." Lazarus laughed as Newtonia tried to resist the urge to punch him again._

" _You're only four years older than me, hell, like, three and a half years, actually, so don't give me that crap. Four years is nothing." She scolded, raising her nose at him, Lazarus reached over to pincher her cheek. Newtonia hissed and crawled away._

" _Okay, you little nine year old child, keep on throwing your adorable little tantrum." As Lazarus spoke, he dodged an empty instant noodle cup being thrown at his head._

" _I'll be ten in like two weeks! Shut up!" Newtonia whined, stomping her foot._

 _Lazarus smiled, looking around the dark space, it was very spacious when they were all little, nowadays, it was tiny, but could fit the three of them comfortably, which reminded him of a question he needed to ask._

" _Where's Isaac? You'd think he'd be around to wish me a happy 'back from the dead' after a mission well done." Lazarus laughed, Newtonia didn't join him._

" _Isaac can't talk to you right now." Newtonia spoke plainly, causing Lazarus to hesitate._

" _Why?" Lazarus ask, suddenly feeling very unsure of what was going on._

" _Because you left us. Both of us." Newtonia spoke, still letting no emotion slip into her voice._

 _Lazarus sat quietly for a moment, drinking in the space around him. He suddenly realized that the last thing he remembered wasn't completing a successful mission._

 _Lazarus slowly crawled over to the window, the curtains closed, he slowly opened it up, peaking outside. Lazarus sucked in a breath, becoming aware of the void of darkness outside, endless, empty darkness that he was very well acquainted with._

 _Closing the blinds, Lazarus sat quietly, trying to halt the growing panic in his chest. He turned back to Newtonia, her blond hair tucked behind both ears as she had pressed her knees into her chest while sitting in the corner. Newtonia was staring up at the mess of unreadable newspaper clippings and red strings hung upon the back wall of the shelter. Lazarus scurried over and stood over her, his head just not quite touching the ceiling._

" _This has never happened before." Lazarus spoke, quietly._

" _Very astute!" Toshinori's voice echoed around the room, Lazarus jumped, yet the ceiling shifted as to not let him bang his head. Newtonia turned her head slightly._

" _You've never been this close to dead before, you know, without instantly dying." Newtonia shrugged as in the blink of an eye she had moved across the treehouse, sitting by the window, holding the curtain open to look out upon the void of darkness._

" _It's kind of sad, really. I thought you'd be more creative then, well, this!" She mocked as she gestured out into the darkness. Lazarus shook, but held his ground._

" _I don't understand. This is the darkness between life and death, this is how it's supposed to be, all this? This all isn't supposed to be here!" As Lazarus spoke, the entire treehouse shook, as if offended by his words, Newtonia shook her head and groaned._

" _Now you've done it." She muttered, obviously irritated. Before Lazarus could reply, the treehouse collapsed into nothingness, falling away underneath his feet. Lazarus screamed as he felt himself plummet down into the endless dark abyss, the wind whipping by his head as he descended down farther and farther._

 _Newtonia was also falling, though she had rolled over onto her back and was frowning, "Hey, idiot," Lazarus glanced, his panic shifting his attention over to her, "You do know you can't 'fall' here, right?"_

 _Instantly Lazarus was laying on his back, the wind gone, his body and the ground returned before he could even process it. Newtonia stood beside his prone form, still unimpressed._

" _Seriously, so uncreative! You've been here, what? Hundreds of times? Not once did you do anything else besides counting slowly and wait to come back to life, for all your claimed 'curiosity' you've never once tried to figure out anything about this place." Newtonia sat down cross legged, placing a hand on her chin._

 _Lazarus looked around, "What is there to find out? This is death. Plain and simple."_

 _Newtonia tisked at him, shaking her head, "Aren't you the one who said that calling what you do 'dying' is disingenuous? Comeon Lazarus, why would you be able to think if this was death?" Newtonia waited for a response, but Lazarus had none, "God you are slow, you edgy bastard, you've associated darkness with death, therefore, when you 'die' you've turned your mindscape into a land of desolation and emptiness. You've done this so many times that it became normal, you never thought to explore what you're capable of, because you've made darkness 'normal' to you, does that make sense?"_

 _Lazarus said nothing._

 _Newtonia screamed, before shaking her head, "Oh god, why did I have to be you? It's like talking to a brick wall, I am so ashamed to be… whatever the hell I am."_

 _For his part, Lazarus could only stare blankly back, "What are you?"_

 _Newtonia grinned, cocking her head to the side, "Finally, a real question," She smiled and shrugged, "I have no goddamn clue though, I guess I'm you? That would make sense in a weird way. So, if you would stop putting me into the body of a nine-year-old girl I'd really appreciate it."_

 _Lazars blanked, having no idea how he was suppose to make Newtonia change bodies, or if he even wanted her to. Newtonia sighed._

" _What? Do you have some identity issues here? You can't see your subconsciousness as anything other than a little girl? You know that's pretty screwed up-" Newtonia paused, looking around._

" _Huh," Newtonia froze, her sudden unsureness caught Lazarus off guard, "Guess our time's up then."_

 _Suddenly, the world began to fragment, cracks formed in the darkness, letting harsh light into the world, Lazarus recoiled, until a stray thought passed through him._

" _I don't have eyes." Lazarus asserted, instantly turning the blinding light into a mild inconvenience._

 _Newtonia snickered, "You learn quick, er, I learn quick? Whatever, good call." Newtonia walked over to a crack, looking through it, Lazarus followed her, his gaze drawn to the sight on the other side, what appeared to be a normal, if totally destroyed, street corner._

" _So, hopefully, we'll get a chance to meet again, Lazarus, but if you're half as stupid as you've spent the last fourteen years telling yourself you are, I highly doubt you'll be able to ever achieve this state of consciousness again. So, I guess these are our parting words." Newtonia suddenly flinched, the cracks growing along the floor, hitting her legs and traveling up her body as the world of darkness began to fall away._

" _After all, the only reason we're able to talk is because you're hallucinating while near death; consequently, you introduced another person into your mind I could inhabit, but you'll probably never do this again. So, brush your teeth! Make friends! Stop being such a goddamn wreck! Actually address some of your deep seated trauma so I can stop repressing it! Oh, and stop killing yourself so much, it might not be traumatic for you anymore but it sure as hell is to me!" With that, Newtonia shattered, as colour replaced the darkness behind her, slowly rebuilding the world around Lazarus._

* * *

Lazarus opened his eyes in the real world as blood dripped down his forehead. He groaned, slowly trying to move his body, before finding he couldn't. He rolled his head to the side, diverting the tiny flow of blood from down his nose to off onto the broken concrete beside him. The world around him was chaos, the examinees had mulled around into groups and were chatting idly, as if the exam had not just ended, then again, Lazarus reminded himself that he had no idea how long he was out for.

Lazarus painfully moved his head back, looking up and down the street, seeing fifty, no, closer to a hundred feet in front of him, the towering form of the zero point robot. Lazarus swore to himself, he didn't need to be told how much of a miracle it was that he was still alive, though seeing how uncomfortable being alive was right now, he would have prefered he died on impact and had peacefully regenerated. Lazarus could tell that both of his arms and legs were screwed, that was an easy call, but the tightness in his chest told him he had broken a rib or two, or three. He also felt his jaw quiver as he tried to open it, telling him he had either shattered it or severely dislocated it. Overall, his condition was a little dire, he'd say it was, a solid seven out of ten, with ten being instantly dead on his scale.

"There he is! The one who was really beat up!" A restrained, yet worried voice spoke, Lazarus flicked his eyes to the side, ignoring the sudden swell of pain behind his eyes that blurred his vision. Tetsutetsu and some little old lady in a lab coat were standing not to far off to the side of his position. Lazarus wanted to chuckle, but his chest burned as it spasmed with quickly ended joy.

"Oh dear, you really picked a fight." The old lady chided as she hobbled over to him, Lazarus felt his jaw shake uncontrollably as he tried to move it, but he couldn't resist it.

"You...should...see...the...other...guy." Lazarus snarked, feeling his face catch fire at the forced movement, but his mind give him the thumbs up as a worthwhile use of energy.

"That's good that you're in good spirits." The old lady nodded, before leaning over to him. Before Lazarus could remind her of his personal space, she puckered her lips and placed a big, wet, granny kiss on his cheek. Lazarus, on a new internal scale of blissfully all alone to Midnight's face, was far beyond any feelings of uncomfortable he had ever experienced before.

However, the energy that hit him afterwards took what little breath was left in his lungs. Lazarus felt his entire world vibrate, it felt like he had just downed a big gulp filled with eight hour energy topped off with a side of half a bottle of caffeine pills. (Which he had done exactly once, and yes, it had actually killed him)

A student from somewhere in the crowd proclaimed loudly, "That's the youthful heroine! Recovery Girl! Wow! In person! UA's official nurse!"

Another voice piped up, "The kiss is a little gross, but you feel so much better after! She accelerates the healing process, months of recovery in moments!"

Lazarus took the information in, Recovery Girl was accelerating his body's natural healing capacity. Lazarus guessed that's why his heart felt so overhyped, still, he couldn't shake the feeling something was, he couldn't quite place it, off.

Lazarus looked down at his limbs, still useless and broken. Recovery Girl seemed taken aback, as if she had no idea what was happening, Lazarus didn't either.

Suddenly, Lazarus felt a coldness spread through his limbs as his heart only pounded faster, and Lazarus put his finger on exactly what he was so unsure of. His body had never 'recovered' before, he in fact had only ever recovered from injuries one way before.

Without warning, his heart shot from his back pocket into the center of his chest, taking a shortcut through his spinal cord, leaving a massive gaping wound on his back. Recovery Girl took a step back, and several examinees gasped loudly.

Lazarus felt his entire body convulsed, his heart pounding in a steady, constant rhythm. Instantly, his body began to regenerate, while his former form was still intact.

"Turn away! This isn't going to be pretty!" Lazarus managed to scream as he ignored the pain in his jaw as his chest pulsed with alternating heat and cold. He could feel himself becoming bloated, his muscles doubling up underneath the surface pushing out the old to make room for the new. Lazarus screeched as his skin cracked like porcelain, new pink flesh increasingly visible underneath. His body shattered in a single moment, his outer shell turned into a plume of white dust as his body exploded.

Lazarus huffed, his breath short, but he felt good, fantastic even. He felt like he was on a fresh life with only a few of all the uncomfortable parts of dying.

Recovery Girl seemed to have recovered from the worst of her shock and was now inspecting his completed body, "Interesting...I've never seen that before...you alright there?" Lazarus smiled at her genuine curiosity.

"Never better miss, I feel like I've just jumped out of my grave and run a marathon." Lazarus stumbled to his feet, feeling his mind readjust to having a working body again. He groaned as he felt the blood rush to his head and heart. Lazarus reached under his repaired shirt, feeling for the familiar edges of his cube. Lazarus felt his heart protest as he pulled it from its comfortable position and slipped it into his back pocket.

Several of the examinees wore worried faces, Lazarus saw some point and him and mumble, collectively changing from worry to terrified expressions. Other people whispered about Recovery Girl, clearly unsure if all of her healing was that violent looking.

Lazarus smiled as he gave Recovery Girl the thumbs up, walking away as if nothing had happened. The crowd ahead of him politely parted to let him through, and the hint of unsure fear in their rushed avoidance of him was not lost on Lazarus.

"Are you sure you're good to leave?" Recovery Girl called out, taking a step towards him. Lazarus turned over his shoulder.

"Am I being kept here?" Lazarus spoke slowly, his need to get away to process what had happened burned inside of him.

Recovery Girl hesitated, then shook her head. Lazarus shrugged and kept moving forward, his eyes locked on the horizon.

* * *

"...I can't believe it's been a week already, huh?" Hanta sighed as Lazarus packed his bags.

"Time flies." Lazarus spoke, his voice drained of emotion, his failure to keep up with the other examinees how weighing heavily on his heart.

"I'm not sure how I did on the exam, I mean, I'm not saying I did bad, but I don't know…" Hanta bit his lip as he stood up from the kitchen table and began to pace, Lazarus opened his mouth and then closed it. He hadn't told Hanta that Lazarus knew he had flunked the practical. Also most likely the written as well, but he knew that was most likely going to happen.

"We all tried our hardest, the results are what they are." Lazarus remained calm as he stood, his voice doing little to sooth Hanta's anxious energy, "As soon as our results get here, I'll be out of your hair."

Hanta laughed, smiling brightly, "Well, don't be in too much of a rush, for all we know the results wont-" Hanta was cut off by a shrill shout from Ms. Sero.

"Hanta! Lazarus! It's from UA!" As Ms. Sero finished, Hanta was out of the room and down the stairs. Lazarus followed slowly behind Hanta, seeing no reason to rush the inevitable.

The bottom of the stairs quickly approached, Hanta had already grabbed his package as well as Lazarus's. Lazarus slowly took it from Hanta, who vibrated with excitement. He looked around, as if deciding what to do.

"Okay, so we should open them together, wait, no. We should open them alone, yeah! Open them alone, and then we can tell the other person the news, good or bad, hopefully good, but I don't want to jinx it." Hanta stopped short, taking a page out of Lazarus's book and knocking on the wooden coffee table to negate his bad luck.

Lazarus chuckled and nodded, "Alright, see you back here soon I suppose." Lazarus spoke, caught off guard by Hanta putting a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Whatever happens, these last few months have been a blast Lazarus. No matter what, I don't regret a thing." Hanta finished, a firm line of thankfulness written across his face. Lazarus tried to figure out how he could respond, how he could let Hanta know that the letter wasn't going to surprise him, but could only smile and nod. Lazarus stepped away, holding the package in a tight grip as he climbed the stairs, dreading having to reach the top.

As soon as Lazarus got to his room, it took all his energy to close the door behind him as he arrived. He turned the lights off and sunk into his chair, knowing fully well what message would reside in the tape he held.

"I am here! As a projection!" All Might spoke, his massive larger-than-life face taking up Lazarus's entire view, the tiny tape projecting up in front of him.

Lazarus laid his head down on his desk, bracing himself for the waterworks he knew would arrive the moment after All Might laid the news on him. He had prepared himself for this, all he needed to do was hear the news.

"And- wait what's that?" Lazarus looked up, raising an eyebrow at All Might's sudden break from character, "We're out of time? I pushed it back too many times? Preposterous!" All Might spoke to someone just out of frame, projecting the last word in the same way Toshinori did, a habit Lazarus assumed the sickly man had picked up from All Might after working with him.

All Might began sweating in a very uncharacteristic manner, "How much time do I have to do this? Thirty seconds?!" All Might coughed, before snapping back to the camera, still smiling, but with lines of stress on his brow, "Young Lazarus! You passed! Congratulation!" All Might shouted into the camera, giving it a big thumbs up as he fumbled with a remote control with his other hand.

Lazarus felt his jaw drop as he leaned in, he had prepared himself for the worst, he had only entertained one idea in his head, he was going to fail...what the hell was he supposed to do now? How the hell did he pass?

"How did you pass? I'll tell you! Super-quick!" All Might answered, momentarily causing Lazarus to forget this was a very one-sided conversation, "You failed to get enough villain points to pass, but your willingness to walk head-first into danger and fight against overwhelming odds might be terrifying to our insurance agents, yet is exactly what we look for here at UA! You received forty rescue points for your heroics, quick thinking, and willingness to go beyond- five seconds?! Plus Ultra young Lazaris! UA is! Your! Hero! Acad-" Suddenly, the projection froze, before shutting down, enveloping the room in darkness.

From within the darkness, Lazarus began to laugh. Slowly at first, before it raised in volume and pitch to a shrill cry of victory, throwing his arms up and kicking his feet out, flailing about in the empty room like a sugar-hyped child.

This wasn't the end of his journey, this was only the beginning, this was the day UA became his Hero Academia.

* * *

Lazarus closed the door to his room and entered the blackness for the second time today, only this time with much higher spirits. He had spend the entire day out celebrating with Hanta, the two of them partying like there was no tomorrow, which had only ended when Lazarus promised to spend one last night at the Sero residence before leaving.

The darkness gave Lazarus pause, quickly stripping down and putting on his nightwear, before pulling out his phone, letting the screen illuminate his face. He bit his lip, coming up with a million reasons not to make the call he suddenly wanted to make. None of them were convincing enough to stop him.

The phone rang only twice before a reply came, "Good Morning, Law residence, Isaac speaking, who is this?" The stiff yet warm voice of his brother flooded into his ear, Lazarus put on a sad smile.

"Still sounding like a walking answering machine, eh Isaac?" Lazarus felt his brother recoil on the other end of the line, Lazarus wanted to hang up, but couldn't bring himself to.

"What do you want." Isaac deadpanned, the stiffness remaining in his voice. Lazarus tried to keep his energy in his voice.

"Just trying to keep you all up to date, haven't heard from you all since I landed in Japan." Lazarus sat down, gripping tightly on the armrest.

"...Newtonia's still upset, I'm still upset, what do you expect? We're going to forget everything that happened just because you fled halfway around the world? Everything would become peachy keen as soon as you gave us a ring?" Isaac's voice slowly began to harden, becoming more irate with each question.

Lazarus grinded his teeth, trying to regain control of the conversation, "I got in, I made it to UA. I didn't actually just come over here for nothing." Isaac paused on the other line, Lazarus assumed he was surprised.

"...Well, I hope you're happy everything was worth it, huh." Isaac's voice was cold, sending a shiver down Lazarus spine.

"Can I talk to Mom? Dad?" Lazarus didn't actually care who Isaac handed the phone to, as long as it was someone else.

Isaac wasn't giving any mercy, however, "So you can lie to them again?"

Lazarus stood, anger causing his voice to shake, "You know what? Screw you man. Screw. You. I'm trying, okay? I'm trying to extend an olive branch, or some crap like that. I did what I had to do, you did what you had to do, I'm trying to move past that. I never said I would stay forever, and the only lie I told was the same one you did, so don't give me that crap. Forget it. Goodbye Isaac."

Before Lazarus could hang up, he head Isaac shout from the other end, "Lazarus wait!" Lazarus paused, before putting the phone back to his ear, "Just...please...I- damn it. Congratulations, I mean it, okay. UA, that's...big, big for you, or for anyone. You made it man, I'm sorry that everything played out the way it did and that I can't forgive you right now… but I want you to know I'm happy for you. Go, become a hero if that's what you need to do. I'll, I'll take care of things here, I always have." Isaac's voice slowly quieted as he spoke, eventually ending in a wisper.

"Goodbye bro, take care. I'll talk to you later, or, whenever." Lazarus didn't wait for a reply before hanging up, throwing his phone onto his bed before sitting again, taking a moment to steady himself. Trying to relax any way he could.

Tomorrow was a new day.


	7. Orientation and Obliteration

**Hey everyone BenchBeYolking back after an extended break!  
**

 **Yep! I'm still chugging away, sorry for the delay on this chapter! I found this one particularly difficult, due to the fact that while a manga can introduce and establish connections with a few images and fewer words, a written tale requires a little more work to do the same!**

 **But I'm not here to complain, I'm here to let you all know how great you all are, and hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

 **As always, reviews are welcome and always appreciated!**

 **Thank you all for reading, without further ado, I'll let the chapter speak for itself...**

* * *

 _Lazarus found himself able to see once again, the little good it did him. He ripped the cube from his chest and held it close to him, the smoke stung his eyes and the hail of gunfire already deafened his ears, he reached up to his face, feeling the smooth mask covering him. He watched Isaac move, several steps ahead of him, his replica katana drawn as he reached up, pointing at the ceiling, which instantly cracked and fell upon whatever was underneath it, covering the room in further rubble and dust, obscuring his already strained vision._

" _Litch! I need you! Are you back yet?" Isaac called over, Lazarus forced himself to his feet, even without his vision, he reached down and pulled out his switchblade, following the sound of his brother's voice, taking his first steps of his new life into the unknown..._

* * *

Lazarus took the first step towards his new life, stepping over thee threshold of the UA main gate and into the unknown, no longer as a guest, but as a student, a fully fledged member of one of Japan's most prestigious schools. The early morning was bright and crisp, the sun lighting the path towards his future, guiding him forward down the concrete way. The building no longer loomed, but embraced him, as if beckoning him into its halls, welcoming him like an old friend. Lazarus moved onwards as if in a dream, his mind open and his jaw dropped in newfound awe at every aspect of UA, seeing it with fresh eyes, the trimmed trees, the polished glass, and the impossibly clean path all coming together with the fresh scent of morning dew to warm the heart of even the most cynical young student. Lazarus halted, letting the light melt into his body, he closed his eye and opened his hands, facing his palms towards the light as he lifted his chin, feeling every sensation of the moment, feeling more alive than he ever had before.

"What the hell are you doing?" Neito's voice spoke behind him, Lazarus sighed deeply, staying in the moment for a second longer before returning to his regular posture. He opened his eyes and smiled, genuinely, as he turned to face the other boy.

"I'm photosynthesizing jackass, thanks for interrupting me." Lazarus held a serious expression for about two seconds before cracking, smirking knowingly as Neito sighed and shook his head.

"Honestly, how did you pass the exam? Did you threaten to sue the school if they didn't let you in?" Neito shifted his weight, keeping his gaze locked on Lazarus. He knew that Neito most likely was playing with him, but he hadn't figured out yet if Neito was a joker who meant well or was simply an ass. Either way, Lazarus knew he'd give him the benefit of the doubt until he was sure.

Readjusting the strap on his backpack, Lazarus shrug, "I got you to thank, saving you gave me enough points to get in, so thanks for breaking your hand. Really appreciate you doing that for me." Lazarus met Neito's gaze, who was staring right back at him, suddenly, Lazarus realized how tense the atmosphere had gotten.

Neito began to laugh, clutching his sides as he shook his head, "Ouch, you don't hold back, do you?" Lazarus suddenly felt bad for his harshness, but Neito raised a hand to wave away any guilt, pointing at him with his finger, "That's good, too many students are pushovers, you can't be a hero if you don't have a backbone to take a little pressure. What class are you in?" Lazarus licked his lips, still trying to figure out what title to give Neito, deciding quickly to simply take him as he was instead of marking him as a friend or foe.

"1-B. Howabout you?" Lazarus let his posture slack, his hip popping out to the side as he placed a hand on his waist. His backpack's strap instantly fell down his shoulder, ruffling his school uniform. Lazarus groaned and tried to adjust his collar again, "Stupid uniforms, stupid, stupid…"

Neito rolled his eyes and began to leave, "I guess I'll see you in class then, best of luck. Try not to die!" Lazarus instantly looked towards Neito, who had already turned and began to walk away, scouring the back of his head for some hidden meaning in the comment.

"Could he have figured...no, no, just a phrase, Lazarus, just a phrase." He mumbled to himself as he fixed his outfit and then his posture, continuing towards the front doors with added purpose in his movements, no longer simply meandering around.

The school was alive as Lazarus made it to the entryway, students of every age and gender bustled around the social area outside with incredible energy. There was a buzz in the air, nerves and excitement mingling with the expected energy that comes from sticking a bunch of young boys and girls together. He let a smile slip out as he felt like laughing, but decided against it on the grounds that he wouldn't want to be branded crazy on his first day.

"Hello! Hi! Oh, sorry! Hey, have a good day! Hola!" Lazarus couldn't help but enthusiastically greet every single person he bumped into on the way, his bubbling joy rising to the surface on every encounter. He spun freely, darting by boys and girls ranging from the totally normal to pink skinned and horned, each one most likely imbued with a power he couldn't even begin to guess. He was here, he was one of them, he was one of the few able to prove their power as worthy to stand among the strong. The day was his to seize, as soon as he made it to homeroom, that was.

The inside of the school was far more organized, with wide, long hallways and massive stairways to facilitate all the different sized and shaped students, and the number of people who needed to use them at a single time. Lazarus was continually impressed with every corner he took, the obvious planning and design becoming more apparent as he climbed higher up towards the 1-B classroom. The walk was brisk, Lazarus knew he was too full of energy to take time admiring the view, even if he wanted to more than anything else.

And then he was there.

The door was massive, Lazarus knew it was most likely some kind of legal accessibility thing, but he really didn't care, because it would make his entrance all the more dramatic. He reached for the handle, his mind sharp, before suddenly stopping.

"What the hell am I going to say," Lazarus stroked his chin, following the train of thought, "How do I look, you gotta present to impress Lazarus. New school, new classmates, new ladies and gents...it's time to turn on that sexy foreigner charm." Lazarus reached up to his head and nervously began parting his hair, trying to get the mess on his head to obey his command, yet it refused to listen, even held down by the gallon of product he tried to tame it with each day. Lazarus swore as he took his hands away, finding them incredibly sticky from the product rubbing off, looking both ways for prying eyes before rubbing the product on the side of his shirt.

"Not like anyone will see the edges of my shirt, and hey, maybe the untucked look will add to my mystique…yeah, yeah! Lazarus, bad boy transfer student..."

Lazarus moved to reach for the handle, before grimly realizing his hands were taking his shirt with them. Looking down, his hands were firmly stuck against his shirt, the cheap product instantly hardening on contact with the fabric, already turning his white shirt a sickly yellow colour at the edges of his fingertips. Lazarus suddenly wanted nothing more than to die and start again. Struggling to separate his hand from their cotton prison, while at the same time not ripping his shirt.

"Now, now this stupid ass dollar-store junk holds true to the 'never unstick' promise, huh? Huh? Damn it!" Lazarus spoke a little too loudly, his mind reeling as he simply yanked, finally separating his hands and leaving two obvious handprints on his shirt.

"Screw it. This can't get any worse. Just go for it. Go for it! Remember, you are Lazarus Poe, American Transfer Hero-to-be, you are a mysterious figure who's cool, calm and always collected, alright!" Lazarus muttered, pitching his voice up in frustration, his confidence building as he began to hop from one foot to the other, hyping himself up for his entrance, before throwing the door open.

"This 1-B?" Lazarus spoke, adding a bit of base to his voice as he posed one hand against the doorway while the other gently moving a strand of hair away from his eye. At the same moment, he came face to face with a girl, with a single tired dull blue eye staring at him from just a few inches away from his face, her face mostly masked by grey hair. Lazarus froze.

"You talk too loudly for someone who wants to be seen as mysterious." She flatly spoke, looking him up and down, before moving away, revealing the desks near the doorway, currently filled with a girl with red hair giggling, Tetsutetsu shaking his head and Juzo grinning (or maybe that was just how his toothy face always looked.)

Lazarus took a deep breath in, accepting the situation for what it was, "Nowhere to go but up from here." He spoke proudly while putting a goofy smile on his face and taking a massive step forward, forgetting that his product covered hand was still on the doorway, resulting in his footing giving out from under him, swinging his whole body back towards the doorway. Lazarus felt his world go blurry as he smacked his head against the doorway, flat on his ass and still attached to the entryway by his hand. Neito walked past him, still smiling.

"Wow, I'm guessing this situation just makes you wanna die, huh Lazarus?" Neito mocked as he walked past, placing his things down at a desk nearby, Lazarus squinted his eyes.

"You know what you're saying, don't you?" Lazarus's accusation seemingly had little effect on Neito, as he only shrugged and chuckled, sitting down.

Sighing, Lazarus pulled himself to his feet, yanking his hand away from the doorway as he kept his head down and wandered to the back left corner of the room, putting himself as far away from the door and embarrassment as humanly possible. Hanging his head in his hands as he took a deep breath, trying to raise his energy up.

Suddenly, a strong voice cut through the whole room, slicing through the sparse conversations with a deep base, "Silence! Class has begun!"

In two seconds, silence fell over the room. Lazarus was startled, he had never seen an American class react so quickly, but he supposed this was a class of the best of the best.

A grey haired man, wearing a suit and built like a tank with a X shaped scar across his face, stomped into the room with such force that Lazarus, even from the back corner, felt shaken by his entrance. Lazarus glanced around and saw that other than Neito, everyone else seemed just as intimidated by the hulking man before them. He stood behind the small podium at the front of the room, before the massive chalkboard, eyeing the entire class. Lazarus swallowed his fear and tried to focus.

The man scoffed, "I am your homeroom teacher, Sekijiro Kan, also known as Vlad King, the blood Hero!" Kan yet again scoured the room, looking for something in each of them, and thought Lazarus knew it was most likely his imagination, it felt like Kan's eyes lingered on him a moment longer then most.

"I look out at you all, and you know what I see?" Kan began, leaning in, causing several students, Lazarus included, to lean back in their seats, first Stain, and now Kan, how intimidating were Japanese heroes?

Kan continued, not waiting for a responce, "I see…" Lazarus stiffened, wondering what was going to come next, would he insult them? Tell them all they were unworthy? Would he be expelled on his first day?

The energy of the room rose higher and higher, everyone waiting for his next words, Kan's eyes still sweeping over the class, "I see...A group of fantastic young minds! Heroes-to-be who will be shaped into true paragons of order here!" Kan laughed, and instantly, the tension in the room snapped.

"He's super nice!" Lazarus screamed as several students cried in relief along with him. Instantly, Kan stomped on the ground, within seconds, everyone except Lazarus was seated again, leaving him stranded on his feet at the back.

Kan stared directly at him, Lazarus felt like a deer in the headlights, unable to figure out if he should just pretend like standing was his plan all along or simply take his seat.

"What's your name." Kan spoke to Lazarus from across the room, most of the class purposefully averted their eyes, pretending not to have ever seen Lazarus before. Lazarus found the energy to move his jaw.

"Lazarus! Lazarus Poe, Poe Lazarus! ...That's not my name, well it is, but not the right order, haha! ...it's Just Lazarus, Lazarus, Just isn't my first name, my first name is Lazarus, Poe is my family name, am I saying it backwards in Japanese? I'm not really use to that yet, oh! Sorry, Sir-Sensi, Sensi-Sir? Sirsirsensi- I'm just gonna take my seat real quickly now." Lazarus babbled as he slowly inched his way back to his desk and sunk down into his chair, pretending not to hear the snickering from around him as he melted into his chair. He could feel Tetsutetsu judging him from across the room.

Kan stared at him for a moment longer, before taking a deep breath and readdressing the class, "Listen up! I may see potential in all of you, but that's all I see, potential. Nothing has been realized yet. That's why you've come to UA! To take your talents that put you above your peers and refine them into something even farther beyond!" Kan pounded the podium passionately as he pointed at random parts of the class, wrapped up entirely by his speech.

"Maybe you were once the top dogs of wherever you came from, but UA is different, you've been put in a bigger pond than before! Everyone around you? Everyone in this school? They are now your competition, each one of you is fighting for a spot in the big leagues now." Kan paused, taking a breath, "Everyone else is now, also, your greatest ally, each one of you will see something in someone else that is better than you, and through that, you will come to push yourselves to greater heights, in turn inspiring others. That is the unique and great thing about UA, here, we don't strive for mediocrity. Plus Ultra! To go even further beyond is our motto! Plus Ultra!" Kan knocked over the podium and pointed to the ceiling dramatically, scattering a stack of cue cards carefully hidden behind it. Lazarus couldn't have cared less as the class burst into cheers.

"YEAH! PLUS ULTRA!" Lazarus cried as he knocked over his own desk and lept to his feet, instantly silencing the class as his desk hit the floor. Lazarus smiled as everyone turned yet again to face him, regarding him with everything from pity to poorly held giggles. Kan once again regarded him with a neutral expression of vague disappointment.

Lazarus snapped his fingers and pointed at Kan, deciding he had embarrassed himself enough today, "Got it, tone down the plus ultra, more, neutral ultra. Okay." Lazarus spoke as he quietly picked up his desk and sat back down, the attention returning back to Kan.

Kan looked as if he wanted to say something, then decided against it as he nodded once and looked around, "Any questions?" The class seemed to shift, Lazarus could note several people who clearly had questions, but didn't want to be the first to say something, especially after Lazarus's double faux pas. Lazarus saw a hand go up somewhere in the middle of the class as a student stood up.

Lazarus rubbed his eyes as he looked at the student again, confirming that he wasn't seeing things and the boy did in fact appear to have a comic-style speech bubble as a head. Now he had seen everything. From the back of the class, Lazarus couldn't hear the boy say anything, but from the way everyone was staring at his face, Lazarus assumed that there was writing he wasn't privy to. After a moment, Kan nodded again.

"Good question." Kan spoke, and Lazarus couldn't help but tilt his head, hoping he would elaborate, or at least answer in full sentences, "I will be teaching basic hero training for you, but you will have a variety of other pro heroes who will come in for workshops and special classes, here at UA, we, the teachers, have the freedom to change the curriculum and classes however we see fit. That is within reason, obviously, we still have to make sure you learn academic skills as well, we want you all to be well rounded heroes and students at the end of your time here." As Kan finished speaking, Lazarus reached into his bag and pulled out a small black notebook, reaching for a pen with his other hand and biting off the cap, holding it in his mouth as he began writing. Mumbling to himself.

"Basic Hero Training; Big muscle man Kan." Lazarus sighed as he flipped a few pages back, looking over his cut and pasted day schedule beside his monthly budget. Closing the book completely, Lazarus slipped it back into his bag, looking up to see Kan taking more questions, mostly about course content and his own background as a hero. Both things Lazarus knew he could find on his own and didn't need to pay full attention to. For the first time, Lazarus took a good look around him. The corner, and the whole class, was pretty sparse compared to the american classrooms he was use to, other than the desks and a closet in the back, there wasn't anything noteworthy about the layout. Lazarus realized the only people he knew here were Tetsutetsu, Neito and Juzo, even then, he didn't really know anything about them other then their names. Lazarus looked to his right, realizing in his rush he hadn't even seen who was sitting around him.

The boy beside him had messy brown hair and black pupils, giving him an unfortunately constant zoned out look on his face. Though even so, he seemed to be paying total attention to Kan. Lazarus really didn't want to make more of a hassle then he already had, so he decided to leave him alone for now, instead looking directly in front of him at the back of a girl's head. She had a full head of dark wavy green hair, and that was all Lazarus could really deduce about her from the back of her head.

As if on cue, the girl in front of him suddenly bent her back and tilted her head over the head of the chair, staring directly at Lazarus with a wry smile on her face, her equally dark green eyes playfully regarding him. Lazarus flinched, unsure about what to do. She chuckled quietly and smiled, bringing her hand by her face to wave enthusiastically at him. Lazarus relaxed and gave his own little wave, before he was hit in the face with a crumpled piece of paper. Before Lazarus could think, she had gone back to sitting normally, humming as she drummed her fingers on her own desk.

Looking at the crumpled ball, Lazarus carefully unfolded it, wincing as he was confronted with his greatest foe; written japanese. He had immersed himself in the verbal language, but damn it if he wasn't still far too slow at translating. He placed his finger on the start of the sentence and traced it, speaking the words in english as he put it through his mental filter.

"I'm Setsuna Tokage, you really know how to make an entrance-" Lazarus paused and sighed, shaking his head, "Nice to meet you Just-Poe-Kun-" Lazarus stopped completely, groaning as he couldn't help but smile, flipping the paper over and writing slowly on the back, yet again needing to put verbal words to his thoughts.

"It's nice to meet you Setsuna," He frowned and crossed that part out, hearing Hanta beratting him inside his own mind, "Tokage-Chan, please please please just call me Lazarus." Lazarus yawned as he deftly folded and flicked the paper back onto Setsuna's desk in a single swift move, glad that his years of practice of not getting caught passing notes was finally paying off for something.

After what felt like three seconds, the paper was being tossed at his face again, Lazarus managed to catch it this time, eyeing Kan at the front of the room, still taking questions and seemingly none the wiser of his note passing. Lazarus opened it to see a single question hastily scrawled in big lettering.

"You speak english?" He read in english, a little louder than his previous mumbling, noticing Setsuna's ears perk slightly. Lazarus chucked, taking a moment to think about what to write next as Setsuna rocked back and forth in her chair, clearly waiting for his response. Lazarus wrote down 'yes' in english, slipping it into her eagerly waiting hand.

"Lazarus Poe." Kan's voice traveled over the room, shocking Lazarus momentarily, had Kan seen? Was he about to get kicked out on his first day for passing notes of all things?

"Yes." Lazarus replied intensely, hoping to feign an understanding of what he was being called for, however before he could plan out the next words to come out of his mouth, Kan had already looked back down at the list in his hand and called out the next name. Lazarus deflated, resolving to pay more attention to Kan. He was instantly blindsided by another bit of paper bouncing off his forehead. Lazarus sighed as he picked it up, unfolding it to reveal a massive mess of writing, clearly put down as quickly as possible. Before he could even begin to decode it, it was snatched out of his hands by Setsuna. She had turned around and was smiling widely at him.

"We'll talk later! That's so cool!" As quickly as she spoke, she had turned around, going back to watching Kan at the front of the class. Lazarus turned his attention forward as well.

Kan had finished calling attendance and was currently standing still, checking his watch. After a moment, he nodded and turned to the class, "Okay everyone! It's time to head down to the first year orientation! Take this time as a valuable chance to form bonds with the other first year students in the support course, general studies, business course, and obviously your rivals-to-be in class one-A!" As Kan finished, he marched his way to the doorway and threw it open, "See you all down there, meet back in class when the orientation ends!" Without another word, Kan slipped out the door and was down the hallway, leaving the class to head downstairs at their own pace.

Lazarus sighed, standing up and grabbing his backpack, slinging a single strap over his shoulder as he stared down at his feet, maybe this wasn't the best start to his school year, but he had a feeling it was only uphill from here. Lazarus nodded, shaking his shoulders to adjust the weight on his backpack. He looked towards the doorway, his vision completely obscured by Setsuna's excited face uncomfortably close to his own.

"So can we talk about you speaking english now?" Setsuna spoke, leaning in even closer to him. Lazarus leaned back, falling back into his chair, his face feeling incredibly warm.

"Is personal space an American concept or something?" Lazarus mumbled, standing up again, and brushing imaginary dirt off his pants. Setsuna giggled, tapping on the floor with her shoe.

"So you are American! Sweet! That makes two of you! I didn't think UA would have people from all over the world, but it's super awesome! I'm excited to work with you Poe-kun, Plus Ultra and all that! Haha!" Setsuna exploded with excitement, her mouth moving at a hundred miles an hour, leaving Lazarus a little unsure on what exactly he was expected to reply to.

"...Wait, two of us?" He spoke carefully, unsure if he had heard correctly, Setsuna pointed over her shoulder towards the door, Lazarus followed her pointing, catchin a blond haired girl with massive horns turning the corner and moving away from the class.

"Pony-chan, that's her name, she's an American as well! Not sure where she's from, I honestly don't know much about America other than the names All Might shouts when he does his smashes! Like Texas! And Detroit! And Arkansas!" Setsuna jumped, pointing to the ceiling as if the American locations were painted in long strokes above her. Lazarus couldn't help but laugh, this was too much.

Setsuna suddenly gasped, her eyes widening before staring directly at Lazarus, "Oh, right! Pony-chan didn't want me to call her by her last name, so do you prefer Lazarus-kun? You can call me Setsuna if you want, even though we don't know each other that well, if it makes it easier for you." Lazarus blinked, having to remind himself again that people didn't call each other by their first names not just in writing, but even in conversation unless they were good friends. Still the offer was appreciated, Lazarus couldn't help but smile and give Setsuna a thumbs up.

"Thanks Setsuna-chan, it's... nice to have someone excited to see me here, I guess, I apreciate your efforts to make me feel welcome. We should-" Before Lazarus could finish, Setsuna wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him down to her height. Yet again getting uncomfortably close to him.

Setsuna poked his cheek with a finger, a mischievous grin written across her face, her green hair tickled the back of his neck and Lazarus couldn't help but note that she smelled vaguely of flowers and chocolate, "Stick with me Lazarus! I'll teach you everything you need to know! I'll make your 'American Dream' come true!" Before Lazarus could say anything else, the grey haired girl from before strolled right up to Setsuna and grabbed her by her other arm, sighing as she pulled Setsuna away from Lazarus.

"Okay, you've assaulted the clumsy foreigner enough for today, come on Setsuna-chan, we've got to get to the orientation." The grey haired girl mumbled as she continued to drag Setsuna away, who was half-heartedly resisting.

"Reiko-Chan! I was just about to trap him! He'd have no choice but to be part of my entourage! Uh-, Bye Lazarus-kun! See you in class!" Setsuna waved enthusiastically as Reiko dragged her out of the room.

He stood there for a moment longer, snickering at the display, before moving towards the door himself, hoping that he could still remember how to get to the orientation hall.

* * *

Lazarus was surprised at how completely ordinary the orientation was, he expected explosions and fireworks, instead he got speeches and lists of expectations. He remembered almost nothing, it was dull, expected and exactly the kind of event he would have skipped back in America.

But damn it if it wasn't cool to get lectured about code of conduct by a dude who had a bunch of villain fights under his belt.

Taking a moment, he looked around at the student body milling in the large yet ordinary gymnasium. He recognized a few of his new classmates, and the support class was easily spotted with their gadgets and knick-knacks, but he had to admit the business students and general studies students blended together in such a way that he couldn't really tell them apart. More than that, Lazarus became aware of another more pressing fact.

"Where is class A?" Neito sighed, shaking his head, "I was hoping to size them up, which is impossible if they don't bother showing." Lazarus couldn't help but chuckle.

"Maybe they got held up? It's a big school, easy to get lost in." He grinned as Neito gave him an unamused look. Before he could say anything else, Juzo came over, his regular toothy grin replaced with a contemplative frown, "What's up Juzo?"

Juzo lifted a hand and shrugged, "Speaking of class A, seems they're starting their training early, someone from the business course spotted them out on the field on their way over here." Lazarus shared a look with Neito, both surprised.

"Whohohoh, they're skipping out on orientation to train? Seriously? What is this, the military? Can't they take one day to meet their fellow schoolmates before trying to outdo them?" Lazarus groaned as he rubbed his forehead, feeling a little peeved that his supposed 'rival class' would remain nameless and faceless. Juzo laughed.

"Hey, we'll have team building over them, right?" Lazarus couldn't help but smile as Juzo joked around.

Lazarus stretched out and yawned, "Well, class for us starts pretty boring, but we have hero training first thing tomorrow, so we got that to look forward to." The other boys agreed, nodding as they all began to move around the gym, silence descending over the group.

"I guess we should go talk to general studies or something-" Lazarus started, trying to break the silence.

Before Lazarus could finish, Kan's voice came over the intercom, clearly irritated. "All class B students! Please report back to the class to pick up your exercise uniform and report to the field! Now! Thank you." All three boys looked at one another, Lazarus felt a grin rise on his own face as the two boys processed the announcement.

"Well gents," Lazarus began, turning to walk back to the class, "I guess we're not going to be outdone without a fight."

* * *

 _Lazarus threw himself in front of Isaac, catching a bullet in his shoulder. He grunted, feeling warm liquid run down his arm. The gang member before his swore, lifting his gun, intending to finish Lazarus off once and for all. Lazarus knew these guys weren't like the other gangs they had fought, there was no rules here, only death._

 _Thankfully, death was his forte._

 _Lazarus rushed towards the man, and without hesitation, the man let loose the rest of his clip into Lazarus. Lazarus laughed, the bullets stinging, but doing nothing to actually stop his charge. With a single drawn back fist, Lazarus down the thug with a blow across the jaw, knocking him to the ground and out instantly. Lazarus huffed, shaking his body, hoping that the soreness he felt was just surface pain._

 _Isaac moved beside him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?" The question was almost comic, with how many bullet wounds had punctured his body, but Lazarus still found it within him to smile._

" _I'm not dead yet, am I?"_


	8. Tests and Termination

**BenchBeYolking here! With a surprise chapter right outta left field!**

 **I'm back! I'm rested, and I've given up on school and have neglected all my assignments to write fanfiction instead. (It sound so much worse when I actually type it out...)**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, finally, with Lazarus in UA the real adventure can begin! I'm excited to kick off Lazarus own story and start getting some more familiar faces involved. Thank you to everyone who's followed and liked this story, and if you haven't, I hope I can convince you to stick around to see what's next!**

 **As always, leave a review if you have any questions, criticisms, thoughts, theories, words of wisdom or what-have-yous. It always makes my day to read what you guys have to say!**

 **Also, I may delay next chapter (slightly) in order to go back and do some editing on the first few chapters, as now that I've gotten into the writing grove, I kinda want the first couple chapters to not suck, so I can trap people into reading the whole thing! Haha!**

 **That's enough blabbering from me! Without further ado, I'll let the chapter, speak for itself.**

* * *

Lazarus felt an uncomfortable itch in the jumpsuit that UA had provided for him, he knew his body wasn't bulky enough for a large, but his height and mass made a medium uncomfortably tight. He was trapped between two sizes, the other boys had spent the whole time in the locker room laughing at him frantically changing from one size to the other. He grimly remembered their 'helpful' advice the whole time he was trying to decided.

In the end, he had reasoned that being a little tight was preferable to tripping over his own pant leg. He saw the rest of class B gather around the courtyard, each muttering to themselves about what they thought was going to happen. Tetsutetsu was clearly ready for a brawl, with his fists already balled up and ready for combat. Other students stretched absentmindedly, going for general preparedness over any specific workout. Lazarus asked himself what he could do to prepare. He chuckled, "What can I do to prepare to die?"

"Students! Assemble!" Kan's voice washed over them, demanding silence, Lazarus obeyed, turning his body and locking his hands behind his back, his eyes following Kan's movement in front of the group. Kan was clearly irate, he clenched and unclenched his hands every few moments, his eyes already darting around.

"It's come to my attention that Mr. Aizawa, the homeroom teacher of class A has already taken it upon himself to begin testing his students," Kan paused, letting the information sink into the crowd, "Here at UA, we pride ourselves on pushing our students to their greatest potential, and I will not fall behind as a teacher by allowing class A to so easily surpass us; as of right now, class B hero training begins!" Kan finished with a dramatic point to the sky, as the energy rose, Lazarus felt it carry him away, he could almost visualize his goal in the sky above, his dreams realized in the bright blue world so far away and yet seemingly within reach.

"Let the fitness exam, begin!" Kan cried out, bringing his finger down to point at his class, who Lazarus felt, as a single unanimous entity, groan.

"A fitness test?" Lazarus heard someone from the back complain.

"Something so ordinary?" Someone else moaned.

"Man, I thought I'd be done with those after middle school…" Yet another voice chimed in.

Kan seemingly had enough, stopping on the ground to silence the class, "It may be ordinary, but hold yourselves to a better standard! You are heroes in training now!" The grumbling stopped dead. Kan sighed, "It's not just another ordinary fitness exam, here at UA, you are not only allowed to use your quirks to improve your results, but in fact, it's encouraged that you use them!" Suddenly, Lazarus felt a new wave of excitement arrive in the class, one that Lazarus didn't really share.

Neito chuckled, "So we're being given permission to cheat the results?" He spoke with a casual ease that betrayed a little excitement underneath. Kan nodded.

"You were born with your quirk, a power that is yours to control, your power is as much a part of you as you are a part of it. To not use such a massive part of yourself is pointless, everyone has their own unique ability, don't repress it, express it! Take this chance to use your quirk without fear of consequences! Use it to go beyond!" Kan paused, as if waiting for a response, Lazarus knew he wouldn't have to wait long.

"Plus Ultra!" Lazarus cried along with the rest of the class, a cheer, and a promise to work as hard as they could. Thought Lazarus knew his quirk put him at a disadvantage, he could still put up a competitive result.

Kan paused, then smiled in a way that instantly set off Lazarus's warning flags, "Oh, and by the way, also like class A, whoever comes in last? They'll be expelled, instantly." The energy in the room didn't just die, it imploded into a black hole of silence. Lazarus felt the chill not only run down his own spine, but the spine of almost every member in Class B, UA didn't wait a moment before culling the weak it seemed. Still, he reminded himself that he didn't have any reason to fear.

After all, he was reasonably fit, even if he couldn't use his quirk to his advantage here, how outclassed could be be.

* * *

"One hundred meter dash, go!"

Lazarus launched himself like a spring, taking short quick steps to build up enough speed to take longer more powerful strides. He couldn't help but smile, he was the track all-star at his school back home, he'd put up a good time here at least.

Lazarus suddenly felt a blast of wind hit him, as a mess of blond hair galloped at high speeds past him. Lazarus grimly realized why she had been named 'Pony-chan', as he was left in the dust.

* * *

"Sit ups, go!"

Lazarus gasped, his core feeling like jello as he leaned against the wall. Still, he had in fact sat up, many, many more times then he ever had before.

"Try and beat that…" Lazarus chuckled as he looked at the next group go.

Instantly, Juzo turned the ground to mush under his feet, his legs sinking slightly into the ground, giving him a stronger base to go from. A girl with green vine for hair had somehow planted her hair into the ground and was sitting up at a massively accelerated rate, using her hair to lift her up and down, and Tetsutetsu… was just screaming while going faster then Lazarus thought possible.

"Oh come on!" Lazarus sighed as he grabbed a towel, dabbing at his forehead with a sigh. Resolving himself for the next event.

* * *

"Long jump!"

Lazarus hit the sand, laughing though his fatigue, "Beat that! No one's got longer leaping legs than this guy!"

Lazarus turned around just in time to see a black haired girl grow to quadruple her normal size and easily leap twice Lazarus's own distance. Looking blankly forward, Lazarus layed down in the sand and began groaning loudly.

"Hey no sleeping on the job! Get out of the way!" Kan shouted, Lazarus screamed in frustration.

* * *

It turned out, very, very outclassed was the answer to his original question. Lazarus realized this fact between gasps of air, feeling lightheaded from his sprawled position on the dirt, the scent of sweat and cheap deodorant being everything his tired senses could detect, fatigue quickly overtaking him. He had never pushed his body so hard in his life, twisting every last ounce of energy out of him to keep up with the rest of his class. Even then, he couldn't do it, he had put every last ounce of himself into the test, and while he surpassed his previous accomplishments, he had failed to get any one score that topped the charts. Even Speech-for-face had managed to beat him in the push up event, how that even worked Lazarus had no idea. Yet the results spoke for themselves, he was never outside the top twelve scores, but he never broke the top three. In every event, even if he hadn't failed by any stretch of the word, Lazarus was forced to confront the fact that he had a long climb ahead of him… if he didn't get expelled.

"The last student has finished; now, it's time to look at the results! Remember, no matter where you place, there is always room to improve, these are your first results, but they are not your last." As Kan spoke, Lazarus wondered if Kan was aware of the irony that for one of them, it would in fact be their last results.

As the device in Kan's hand beeped, then projected out the results, Lazarus took a sharp intake of air, a gesture mimicked by several other members of the class, before he darted his eyes over the list, looking for where he ended up.

Number ten. Tenth place.

Utterly, perfectly, dead-center.

He didn't really know how he felt about it, on one hand, he had, with no power other than his own body, saved himself from expulsion at put himself in a respectable place, however, as far as he was concerned, the result basically put him at dead last.

"It was because I had no physical weakness." He spoke quietly to himself, defeat cutting into his skin, "And because the scoring system weighed all components equally, my jack-of-all-trades athletic ability...if even one activity I failed to do right…" Lazarus spit, feeling anger crawling across his skin and over his wounded pride, he wasn't very bright, but he could do basic math. It wasn't that his results were good, even the people below him had one fantastic score and a bunch of weak scores, and everyone above him had one or two fantastic scores and some strong and weak areas, Lazarus's own results were completely mediocre. While for someone of his age, his results were above average and impressively consistent, they were still nothing inhuman, nothing special.

Nothing special. That was exactly how Lazarus would describe how he felt in this class of Pros to be.

" _Why UA?"_

"Oh, yes, another thing I took from Aizawa was his famed 'rational deception' as he calls it," Kan put his hands on his hips, "No one is getting expelled today! It was simply a way to push you to give one hundred percent!" As Kan spoke, Lazarus suddenly lost the ability to breath.

Neito began to laugh, and as Lazarus turned to face him, horror still written across his face, Neito just started laughing harder, placing a hand across his stomach and wheezing uncontrollably, "You all actually believed him? That one of us would be expelled if we came in last?! HAHAHAHA! Are you all stupid? They wouldn't take twenty students in a class if they were going to expel one from each! It would leave them with an uneven number! HAHAHA! The whole test was obviously a sham!" As Neito continued to lose it, Lazarus took a second look at the scores, suddenly understanding Neito's sudden outburst.

"Ah, okay! I didn't realize you came in last, I guess that was because you knew it was all a sham?" As Lazarus quipped, Neito froze, his expression ugly and stressed for half a second before he recovered, returning to his normally relaxed appearance.

"Obviously." Neito spoke, suddenly quieting down and moving away from the center of attention. Lazarus scoffed, suddenly feeling he had a much better understanding of Neito Monoma's personality.

Kan looked unimpressed, "A sham? That is the wrong word to use, don't get me wrong, these results are not things to be proud of," Kan hit another button, and a second list of result appeared, "These are the results of class A."

Lazarus felt himself recoil, and he struggled to put words together into a sentence, "Are you kidding…"

Tetsutetsu growled, his stamina seemingly unending, "All of class A…"

Juzo placed his head in his hands, still breathing heavily, "Both in average and on an individual level.."

Reiko spoke, her face blank, even as sweat dripped down her brow, "Beat us by that big of a margine."

Lazarus felt like swearing, "Someone scored an infinity!? Who does that!? What does that even mean!?"

Lazarus felt the wall that he needed to overcome grow larger before his very eyes, if he was average by his own class's standards, he was a toddler compared to the results of class A. While the fluctuations in scores followed the same pattern that their class did, the scores were just higher. Even the last place of class A had one score that put all of Lazarus's other scores to shame.

"Izuku." Lazarus spoke to himself, muttering the name under his breath as a challenge, if he ever wanted to survive UA, he would have to climb his way up from the bottom, and that would start with overcoming the lowest rung first, that would start with Izuku Midoriya.

"Izuku?" Lazarus muttered again, something flickering in the back of his mind, some repressed memory that tried to force its way to the surface, as he rubbed his chin, trying to place the stray thought just out of his reach, "Why the hell does that name ring a bell?"

"This is shameful!" Kan spoke, shaking his head, snapping Lazarus out of his thoughts, "To be outdone by your competition on the very first day? You are now the underdogs in this race to the top." Kan lectured, shutting the projection down as everyone mesmerized by the results forced themselves to turn away.

"Well at least everyone roots for the underdogs…" Lazarus mumbled, kicking the ground with his toe.

"What did you say, American boy?" Kan spoke loudly as the crowd split to open a sightline between Kan and Lazarus. Lazarus threw his hands up defensively.

"Oh me? Nothing! Just that… I have...to...surpass class A! Yeah!" Lazarus smiled and pumped his fist, praying that he be granted mercy.

Kan said nothing, simply squinting his eyes at Lazarus before turning back to the class, "This is our starting point, this is what we have to overcome. We will work, we will train, and we will overcome class A!" Kan finished with a firm cry, a call to battle, that Lazarus knew the class was willing to answer.

"Plus Ultra!" All of class B cried in unison, the previous tiredness forgotten in the pulse pounding cheer of victory.

Lazarus cheered along, but in his heart, he felt something else, something hard, something determined.

This was his mountain to scale, victory was uncertain and failure meant the end of all his dreams. He knew the rule now, the board had been wiped clean and the pieces were back in place. One final game, with his life on the line.

Lazarus Poe had one shot, and it was time to take it.

"Class dismissed!"

* * *

Lazarus threw open the rusty door with a loud, earth shattering creaking noise, followed by a massive reverberating bang. Taking a deep breath, his body near the breaking point after having to climb the six rickety flights of stairs to get back to his apartment.

"Honey! I'm home!" Lazarus called out to no one, listening for the tiny echo of the empty space. Lazarus dropped his schoolbag with a thud on the cheap coffee table he had placed on the other side of the rusty front door. The table wobbled unsteadily for a moment, protesting the unexpected weight, before accepting the load placed on with silent indignity. Lazarus looked around the sparse room, noticing that the kitchen space was still dirty, the 'living space' was very cluttered and the only two side rooms; a pathetically small bathroom; and a small bedroom, were both messy as all hell.

Lazarus felt trapped by the metal pillars and beams jutting upwards and crisscrossing a ways above his head, it gave him and the whole room the feeling of a cage. He had hated it when he first moved in after leaving the Sero residence, but he had soon come to appreciate it as another 'feature' of his inexpensive home, guest deterrent, he liked to call it. Lazarus chuckled to himself as he danced across the floor, letting the flow of the music inside his own head guide his steps, humming as he stepped over strewn shirts and pants, making his way to the kitchen area to grab a snack.

He looked over the tiny kitchen area as he arrived, the aroma of coffee and instant noodles would have been simply repulsive to most, but Lazarus knew that unique mix of smells as the scent of freedom and independence, as well as repulsive. He looked at his sink, noticing the pile of plates he had used and discarded over the last few days, and the growing pile of sticky notes in increasingly intense pen shades that he had left himself to remember to do the dishes.

Lazarus quickly wrote another one and stuck it on the pile, reminding himself to do the dishes tomorrow.

Satisfied with that particular responsibility out of the way, he turned to the small, but not quite mini, fridge he had purchased for dirt cheap online, it was a gaudy yellow colour, but he had been assured it was white when the original family bought it. Taking a moment to shift the aging toaster and old-school coffee machine out of the way (carefully not knocking over his tower of empty energy drinks), Lazarus finally managed to open the refrigerator.

"What's on the menu today…" Lazarus chuckled as he opened the door to reveal four empty takeout containers and a post it note reminding him to go buy more food, regarding his barren fridge, he nodded sagely, "Going hungry, going hungry is on the menu today." Taking a deep breath, Lazarus shut the door and took out his budget booklet, utterly displeased with himself.

"Well if I cut into my social fund for next-next-next week, I might be able to afford eating out tonight…" Lazarus spent an agonizing two minutes trying to magically make more money appear in his plan, before the grumbling of his exhausted and overworked body simply led him to throw planning to the wind. Taking out his phone, he quickly searched up a local food joint that had the keywords 'delivery' and 'fast' somewhere on their page. He dialed in the number and hit call, waiting for the other end to pick up, before his phone made a sudden screeching noise. Lazarus thrusted it away from his ear, wincing, before the sound died and the other end picked up.

"Hello, you wouldn't happen to have any starving student deals here, would you?" Lazarus joked as soon as he heard a connection.

"Found- oh!" The man on the other end sounded a little caught off guard with Lazarus's quick greeting, Lazarus chuckled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to steal your thunder fast-food man sir, but my body's turning in on itself out of hunger. Any suggestions from your menu?" Lazarus wandered over to the entrance to his 'balcony', safely tucked behind a cracked glass panel, boarded up with the finest discarded planks of wood, Lazarus could only guess that the owner's mantra was 'you get what you pay for' in this building.

The man said nothing, before suddenly replying with a start, "Uh! Right! We do have excellent... stir- uh, stir fry! Very reasonably priced and-and-" Lazarus cut the nervous sounding guy off with a chuckle.

"Say no more, you had my heart at 'reasonably priced' pal! I'll just send over my location…" Lazarus fumbled with the display on his phone for a moment, before sending off his location to the other end of the call, "Done! Have a good day." Lazarus spoke quickly, already feeling his mouth salivate at the thought of food.

"Thank you, I'll send someone over right away...Have a good evening Lazarus." The man replied quickly, before hanging up, Lazarus slipped his phone back into his pocket, rubbing his hands together as he fantasized about his upcoming meal.

Lazarus paused, taking his phone back out of his pocket and staring at it for a moment, before shaking his head and chuckling, he must have mentioned it somewhere in his hunger induced state and just forgotten saying it.

He heard a knock at the door, and looked over his shoulder, Lazarus knew modern service was fast, but he hadn't expected same-minuet delivery.

"Hey! Rent is due!" A gruff sounding voice yelled far too loudly from the other side of the thin door, Lazarus shook his head and groaned. He had forgotten about having to pay next month's rent.

"Hold your horses, I'm grabbing the cash!" Lazarus called back, moving towards his bedroom, before the man began yelling again, "Oh no! You answer this door right now! I'm not going to let you sneak away you rat!" Lazarus rolled his eyes.

"What am I going to do, throw myself out a window?" Lazarus shouted back, stopping towards the door angrily, stopping short just in front of it.

"Wouldn't be the stupidest thing someone did to avoid rent!" The man shouted from the other side, clearly waiting to be let in. Lazarus paused a moment longer, knowing fully well he was being petty, but not really caring one bit about it, before forcibly turning the aging lock, letting the man in.

The man wore a cheap suit, the kind that said the wearer valued neither style or modesty. Lazarus had heard things about people who just looked like delinquents, but he had always assumed people grew out of it once they stopped being teenagers, this middle aged man proved his assumption wrong.

"You the new tenant?" The man spoke, twitching his head to the side to move his long chestnut hair out of his face, his brown eyes squinting at Lazarus. The man looked like a mugger who had stolen the very shirt off someone's back.

"You treat all the new tenants like that? Explains why rent's so cheap," Lazarus thrusted a finger back at the broken door to the balcony, "It's the only reason rent's so cheap, right?" Lazarus locked eyes with the man and made no move to back down, he was too hungry and tired for pleasantries.

The man scoffed, shaking his head, "Whatever, you don't pay me to do anything else other then collect rent 'round here, otherwise, stuff's all your business. Now pay up." Lazarus opened his mouth to refute, but decided against starting an argument with his landlord.

"You didn't give me any time to get it, so wait a second alright? Pinky-swear I won't throw myself out the sixth story window here…" Lazarus held back the detail that he would 'survive' the fall if did though.

Lazarus walked away from the door, kicking away any discarded garments in his path as he made it to his bedroom, which once allegedly had a door, but if it did, said door was nowhere to be found. Lazarus suspected that it had been transplanted onto the front doorway at some point. Flicking on the single dim light in the room, Lazarus crawled over his crappy metal frame bed and opened the tiny closet, crinkling his nose as the dust and musty smell of the interior hit him.

The light barely reached the tiny side room, all that appeared to be in it were a few shirts which were vastly outnumbered by empty hangers, and a tiny dresser tucked into the corner; However, Lazarus had found one aspect of the apartment that was a feature. Pulling on the dresser, he shifted it towards him, revealing a massive hole in the back of the closet, revealing a little space between the wall and the very minimal insulation in the room. If Lazarus thought the closet was dark, the hidden hole was pitch black, however, Lazarus knew that there was nothing in the darkness that could kill him, at least permanently, so he reached in without fear, grabbing for the familiar shape in the darkness.

Lazarus wrapped his hand around a handle he recognized, pulling out the unassuming green duffle bag, dusting flecks of wall particle off of it as he slung it onto his shoulder, knocking his cube out of his back pocket, but before he could bend down to grab it, he heard his landlord yelling for him from the other room. Lazarus made the snap choice to come back for it later, and carried the bag back into the other room, placing it down on the floor with a satisfyingly loud smack.

"One sec! You'll get your money…jeez." Lazarus mumbled as he pulled on the zipper, opening the bag to reveal it's contents. He heard his landlord swear in confusion.

"The...what...how?" The man babbled, clearly trying to say something, Lazarus couldn't find it within himself to care, however.

Lazarus began grabbing stacks of small bills from the duffle bag, counting to himself as he became more irritated with every stack that had to leave the bag, after pulling out six stacks of small bills, he stood up, offering them to the man.

"That's this month's and next month's rent. Happy?" Lazarus huffed, shaking the money as the man made no move to reach out and grab it.

"That...that's gotta be...kid, how much cash is in that bag?" The man seemed suddenly on edge, but Lazarus was done talking to people tonight, he just wanted to eat his stir fry and forget about his results.

"I've had a crappy first day at school, and it's enough money to keep paying rent. So take the money, or don't, and I'll live here for free, your call." Lazarus snarked, shaking the money a little harder.

"...What the hell did you do to get that money." As his landlord spoke, Lazarus felt his breath catch in his throat, and decided instantly he was done with this conversation.

"I don't pay you to do anything else but collect rent, my business is my own," Lazarus threw the man's own words back at him, shoving his rent into the man's hand, who hesitantly accepted the cash, "Have a good evening sir, don't spend it all in one place!" Lazarus replied with a harden edge to his voice, practically pushing the man out the front door and slamming the massive metal sheet with a forceful crash, the sound of thunder.

Lazarus stood, huffing, waiting. After a moment, he heard footsteps slowly walk away from his door, giving Lazarus's shaky legs the cue to sink to the ground, leaving him sitting in the center of his apartment.

"I did what I had to do." He whispered, letting the half-truth escape his lips and fill the room, the answer he could never give anyone but himself.

Lazarus turned around, slowly rising to a knee as he looked over his messy living area with a sudden pit in his gut, "This place is disgusting…" He looked down at a sticky note, reminding him to pick up his stuff, picking the note up, Lazarus took a laboured breath, before grabbing one of his shirts and quickly folding it. Lazarus moved to the next shirt, then the next, needing to do anything but let his mind wander.

* * *

Lazarus threw the duffel bag back into the hidden space in the back of the closet, pushing the dresser back into place. Covering the hole from prying eyes yet again. Lazarus took another breath, still feeling a little shaken. Pulling out his phone, he debated just shutting down and heading to bed, but the need to eat still haunted him as he put it back into his pocket.

Stepping back into the now spotless living space, Lazarus flopped down on a creaky metal chair he had found shoved into a corner during his cleaning, exhaustion hitting him as soon as he left the bedroom, the chair being the only bit of real furniture he had besides his bed. He ate on the countertop beside the fridge most days anyway, so a table wasn't really needed as far as Lazarus was concerned. Taking out his phone again, he noticed how sick he was of his lock screen. He quickly took a quick picture of himself wearing his sweatpants and white T-shirt, zooming incredibly close to his face before setting the image, hoping that someone would find the close up of his awkward expression half as funny as he did. As he moved to put the phone back yet again, he stopped and felt around in his pockets, realizing why he felt so out of breath.

"I swear to god I would lose my heart if I didn't feel how close I was to it…" He chuckled, remembering that he still hadn't grabbed his cube from his closet. Before Lazarus could turn himself around and grab his most valuable organ, he heard three polite knocks on his door.

"Um! Stir-fry delivery!" A cutsy, if unsure voice spoke from the other side of the door.

Lazarus admitted, he was the kinda guy who could develop a crush on anyone for any reason, but he had never fallen in love with someone just because their voice was cute, until now. Lazarus felt his heart skip a beat (an incredible feat considering it was still sitting in the other room).

There was a moment of silence, before the voice spoke again, a little more assertive this time, but no less cutsy, "Is this the right place? Helllooo? Lazarus-kun!" Lazarus felt his heart leap into his throat (again, a very impressive feat), as he practically floated towards the door, trying to smooth his hair which he had already washed, returning it to the wild bed-headed mess it always was.

"C-Coming! One second!" Lazarus found it in himself to speak, trying to undo the massive lock that guarded his door from intruders.

"Don't." A voice whispered in Lazarus's ear. Lazarus looked up, startled and suddenly on edge as he turned his head every which way, trying to identify the source of the voice, before looking back towards the door, seeing Newtonia's phantom image standing in the space between himself and the lock, looking dead into his eyes. "This won't end well. You aren't acting like yourself."

Before Lazarus could speak, another quieter knock sounded at the door, "N-not to rush you...but the food will get cold…" As Lazarus shook his head, Newtonia was gone, and Lazarus's hands were shaking.

"Well, I'm going crazy...let's just chalk that one up to hunger. Hopefully." Lazarus spoke quietly, his eyes wide and honest, praying that it was just a hunger induced vision. He finally finished undoing the deadbolt lock and instantly threw open the door, revealing the girl on the other side.

Lazarus smiled, she was easily almost half a foot shorter then him, he wouldn't put her over 5'6, probably closer to 5'5, she looked up at him, smiling widely in return, her short pink hair contrasting her deep blue eyes, Lazarus was instantly lost in them, that was all he could see, Blue, she was Blue. Forgetting everything he was doing, Lazarus could only just look into her eyes.

"Are you Lazarus Poe?" Blue asked politely from the doorway, holding the bag of food in one hand while the other was hidden behind the bag, most likely supporting it from the back.

Lazarus chuckled, still feeling that warm tingling where most people would have had a heart, "Ye-yeah, you got the right place! I thought I was gonna die waiting for this stir fry!" Blue giggled, and for a moment she closed her eyes, leaving Lazarus empty; However, in that moment Lazarus felt a warning bell go off in the back of his head, his vigilante impulse warning him of danger he couldn't quite see, a gut impulse for avoiding death that had saved him many times before. But very quickly, she went back to looking at him with her endlessly engaging eyes, and Lazarus felt the warning bell fade, then silence.

She shrugged sheepishly, her face turning apologetic, "Well! Sorry I made you wait! Enjoy Lazarus-kun!" Blue smiled a massive smile, and Lazarus felt himself physically recoil, a hand leaping to cover his chest. A smile that cute, from a girl that cute, gave him the same feeling as being shot.

Lazarus continued to smile back, completely forgetting to grab his stir-fry from Blue, however, Lazarus noticed her smile slowly fade into confusion as he continued to look into her eyes, he knew he was hopelessly and utterly distracted from the outside world. Lazarus continued to stare until her face turned into horror, as she looked away from his face to look down at his shirt.

Lazarus blinked, the spell yet again broken as he became aware of his body screaming at him for attention, a dull ache warning him of his injured body. Lazarus slowly moved his hand away from his chest, looking at the deep crimson that coated his entire palm as the bullet wound in his chest continued to leak blood.

"Oh, ah. That was a point twenty-two caliber, right? Silenced?" Lazarus questioned as he put two and two together and made one conclusion. In that same time, Blue dropped the bag of food, and shot Lazarus twice more in the chest.

Lazarus was forced back a half-step by the force of the impact, but he knew there wasn't anything important she could even hit in his chest, so he wasn't that concerned about protecting himself. Instead, he stepped forward, fighting against his body's urge to retreat, grabbing the silencer with one hand while twisting it from her grip, pistol-whipping her under the chin with a single deft move. He grabbed a handful of pink hair in his unoccupied hand as he tossed her stunned body into his apartment, and onto his home turf. Using his foot as a spare hand, he slammed the door shut behind him. Lazarus took a deep breath as he leveled the gun at her downed form, his finger twitching over the trigger as his hand shook, contrasting the cocky look on his face.

"You really thought you could take me, Lazarus; the living-goddamn-Litch, down with a peashooter and a bag of stir-fry filled with lies? You do a disservice to my career so far ma'am." Lazarus grinned as Blue coughed, wiping a bit of blood off her mouth, Lazarus wasn't sure if it was from inside her mouth, or she was caught in the splash zone after shooting him.

She shook, shaking her head, "This isn't fair...this was suppose to be an easy job..." Lazarus snorted.

"Let me tell you, whoever said killing me is easy is the biggest liar since you saying you brought stir-fry." Lazarus shot back, Blue looked at him quizzically.

"You seem really obsessed with that stir-fry thing-" Before she could finish, Lazarus snapped a little.

"I was hungry; consequently, now you have to deal with me while I'm hangry." As he spoke, his tone serious and cold, he realized he didn't know the Japanese equivalent of being both hungry and angry at the same time, and had simply blurted the word out in English in a way that couldn't communicate his foodless rage. Before he could try and communicate the difficult emotional state, she nodded.

"Right, forgot you spoke english," She replied in perfect english, catching Lazarus a little off guard, she smirked, "What? You think you're the only person from Japan to ever be to America? I go where the gang does. Been hopping countries since I was old enough to stand." Lazarus stayed silent, weary not to get too comfortable with his banter.

Blue stood, giggling, which led Lazarus to feel a shiver pass up his spine, "I have to admit, I guess I did underestimate you. though," She smiled and clasped her hands together, looking directly at him, Lazarus had the intelligence to look away, keeping his ears alert, his body ready to react at any change, "You would agree that shooting someone in the heart normally does a good enough job killing them, be fair to me! I've never done this before...that means...you are my first, Lazarus-kun." She whispered the end of the sentence, but Lazarus knew he was already far past any genuine feelings of affection he might have had for her, anything he felt now was just most likely her quirk messing with him.

That's what he continued to tell himself as his face went beet red.

Blue kept giggling, and Lazarus felt his gut twist, a sudden wave of bad feelings washing over him, why hadn't she tried to move yet? Lazarus got his answer when he heard a familiar clicking sound. His mind shot into overdrive, did she have another gun? Was he about to get torn to shreds? Lazarus turned his head back, his mind racing with a hundred different ways he could die, just in time to see her clicking her tongue on the side of her mouth, looking at him with those wide blue eyes.

"Got'cha." Blue smiled warmly, breathing a sigh of relief as Lazarus felt his willpower drain away, he futilely tried to turn away, but his movements felt so sluggish and his mind was drowning in the blue of her eyes.

Blue held out a hand, "Please give me the gun, Lazarus-kun." Without thinking, Lazarus shuffled forward, fighting every step he took, but ultimately a powerless observer in this situation. Growing impatient, Blue took a few steps towards him and snatched the gun from his hand, her posture relaxing further as the gun was back in her possession, but her eyes still never left his, "Please kneel, Lazarus." Like a dog, he obeyed, his body dropping to its knees in an instant, his head now gazing up at her eyes, the dark sky and phantasmal moonlight from outside only further drawing him into her eyes.

Blue leveled the gun at his forehead, pressing the muzzle directly against the center of his head, Lazarus felt utterly defeated, his will to resist already completely depleted. However, he never stopped looking into her eyes, and as he did, he saw a flicker of something, something that gave him hope.

Uncertainty.

" _...you are my first, Lazarus-kun."_

"Please." Lazarus choked out, his white shirt stained with long red lines from his chest, "Don't do this. You can still choose life. It's never too late to choose life over death. Save yourself." For once, he didn't try to break eye contact with Blue, he pleaded, from the depth of his being, feeling emotions he had long buried rise up to his throat.

He could still save one person from choosing death.

Blue's hand shook wildly, and her eyes began to tear up. Lazarus felt the silencer rub uncomfortably on his forehead, her other hand trying to steady the first as she wiped at her tears with her shoulder.

"I- I don't have a-" Blue began, before grinding her teeth, "I have to prove, I'm willing-" She lost her breath, and slowly, she began to lower the gun, taking it away from his forehead. Lazarus took a long breath, hope burrowing deep into his heart.

"...I have a duty. I'm sorry. This is the price you pay for taking what wasn't yours." With tear stained eyes, she smiled sadly, "Lazarus-kun, please, could you close your eyes for me?"

Lazarus felt his whole world drop out from underneath him as coldness began to spread through his body, the command working its way from the base of his spine to his eyelids.

In the darkness behind his eyelids, he recognized his failure, he couldn't even stop one life from choosing death.

Lazarus's ears registered a muffled bang, but by the time his brain could process what it was, he was already dead.


	9. Masks and Murderers

**Hey again! BenchBeYolking here, with a little test, and I'd love to know what you all think if you have an opinion!**

 **So first off, I'm trying something out, normally I write super long chapters and then post them all in one go, finishing an 'arc' in as little as 1 or 2 chapters, but in order to keep up a more consistent update schedule, I'm trying out splitting them into smaller (4-5k) sections instead of larger (8-10k) bits, if the chapters end up too short, I might switch back, but it's just a way to make sure I don't worry about not updating for a long time, especially now that I want to go back and edit the first few chapters in order to make them better~!**

 **Anywichway, thank you all for all the favorites, follows and for twenty two reviews! I read, love (and may or may not cry) over each one, so keep them coming, and I'll keep pumping these chapters out! I write this stuff for you guys and I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Without further ado, let us start the chapter! I'll let it speak for itself...**

* * *

Lazarus found himself yet again in the nothingness.

Lazarus felt the darkness, the oppressive sense of failure adding a physical weight to the atmosphere. The world was heavy, infected by his troubled mind.

Newtonia began to laugh.

Lazarus raised his head, looking at the prone form of Newtonia, gasping for air as she continued to lose her mind in laughter.

"I warned you, and now you're in deep crap, huh?" She grinned, Lazarus scoffed, the pit in his gut persisted as he turned away.

"I lost count. How long until I can go back? I should have a better way of counting by now…" Lazarus muttered as he flexed his hands, trying to look for the familiar cracks in the landscape.

"Huh. That's new." Newtonia quipped, Lazarus glanced over his shoulder to see her gaze glued to something above her, Lazarus followed it to see a massive digital clock display in the air, counting down from five.

"Four," Lazarus chuckled, "You think I'd of figured out these tricks sometime before now, eh?" He glanced over at Newtonia to see her waving goodbye.

"Good luck! Try not to die so quickly again!" She shouted. Almost instantly, the ground cracked underneath him, and Lazarus stepped forward into the gap, falling back into reality.

* * *

Lazarus felt his eyes reform, at the same moment, the urge to gasp for air overtook him. He clasped a hand over his mouth, tears forming on his freshly regenerated cheeks as his mind screamed for breath. Lazarus waited a moment longer before taking a quiet, long, intake of air. Sat alone in the darkness, Lazarus regained his bearings on the situation.

The closet was tiny, but considering how empty it was, he could call it comfortably spacious, and most importantly, it was quiet and secluded from the rest of his apartment. His eyes had reformed in the darkness and as such he could see reasonably well in the low light, at least enough to stand up without sounding the alarm that he was alive, again.

Lazarus reached for the back of the dresser, praying to whatever gods were listening that the dresser didn't put up a fight as he tried to move it. Yet if they heard his prayers, they were promptly ignored as the dresser refused to budge forward. Lazarus couldn't help but mouth swear words as he grabbed one edge and tugged violently, trying to shift the stubborn piece of furniture as silently as possible. He took a heavy step back as he felt his pulling begin to give him results, the dresser finally shifting enough to reveal the hidden hole.

Lazarus froze as the ground sunk slightly under his foot, loudly creaking in an almost comically cartoonish manner. He let go of the dresser and threw his back against the wall, his ear pressed against the wall, hoping that if Blue was still out there, she wasn't paying any attention.

Six bullets ripped through the door to the closet, destroying the few shirts he had bothered to hang up on his rack, Lazarus felt chunks of wall pelt his body from his tucked position in the corner, feeling no more safe then if he had been directly in the line of fire. After a few seconds that stretched into an eternity, the silenced gunfire stopped, and Lazarus knew he had seconds to react.

He dove for the tiny hole, shoving the dresser as he crammed his body into the pathetically small hiding space, grabbing the edge of the heavy dresser and desperately wiggling it over the entryway as the sound of footsteps grew closer. Giving up on concealing the hole, Lazarus stayed perfectly still, the new sensation of his heart actually pounding in his chest weirded him out, as well as the feeling of his money bag pressed against his legs, and his head resting uncomfortably on a second unmarked bag he had hidden away. Lazarus tried to ignore the sound of the bullet ridden closet door being forced open, and the creaking of the floor as Blue shifted around outside, looking for the source of the noise.

Lazarus heard a distinctive hissing sound beside his head, the sound of a territorial animal's warning. Lazarus turned his neck slightly, coming face-to-snout with a massive rat. It was a rodent of unusual size as far as he was concerned, about half a foot long, and currently ready for a fight, a fight Lazarus would lose very quickly.

"Hey little guy." Lazarus whispered, fear creeping into his voice as he tried to keep his tone level and calm.

"Hissss." The rat chittered, opening and closing it's rather formidable jaw in a display of dominance.

"Yeah, okay, you win, this is your home, I'll get out of it soon." He locked his jaw shut as he heard Blue open his dresser, rooting around for something inside. The rat seemed unimpressed and stood up on its hind legs, clearly ready to rip his face off.

"I'll get you cheese!" Lazarus pleaded desperately, speaking so quietly he wasn't even sure if the rodent would be able to pick up on his words, "Not the cheap crap either, good, high quality cheddar, please, please…" Lazarus held his breath, preparing to endure a mauling followed by death. The rat seemed to give pause to the offer, before deciding that Lazarus's flesh was more readily available for consumption then the promise of cheese.

"I get it, little guy, no hard feelings. But know that I will try and bite you to death as well, that's just karma." Lazarus bared his teeth, preparing for the unpleasant taste of rat. Almost immediately, the rat backed down, seemingly shocked that it wasn't getting its way by being aggressive. The behavior gave Lazarus similar pause, causing him to suppress a chuckle.

A faint huff signaled Blue's failing interest in Lazarus's closet, as he heard footsteps move away from his bed, Lazarus waited until he head the footsteps echo in the living area before he tried to move, shifting slight, towards the exit, keeping his eyes glued to the rat. The rat, for its part, turned suddenly and scurried off to wherever it had come from, ignoring Lazarus entirely.

"I owe you one little guy!" Lazarus whispered intensely after the retreating form of the rodent, his stress level finally dropping as he pushed the back of the dresser with his legs, crawling back into the now ransacked closet. Lazarus grabbed at the two bags inside. Lazarus took a moment, as he put down his money bag, focusing instead on the plain black backpack, covered with a thin layer of dust. Lazarus hesitated as he reached for the clasp, undoing the flap, before reaching inside, feeling the familiar curvature of the first object inside.

Lazarus pulled it out and stared at the new key piece of his costume, the expensive looking fiberglass mask, painted a deep crimson color, with a little damage on it's surface adding character. It was styled somewhere in between a regal crown and a bare human skull, with a little bit of classic hockey mask aesthetic thrown in for good measure. He looked down at the other content of the bag, the rest of the costume bringing back memories of a different time, without thinking, he slipped the mask over his face, and began to suit up. His mind wandering.

* * *

 _Lazarus entered the small office, his eyes drawn to the endless wall of masks, styled in every different fashion, from hockey to masquerade. All of them had their own style, representing years of work, from skulls to flowers in a million different colours. He forced his attention onto the only other person in the room, an elderly man humming merrily as he sculpted yet another piece of art._

 _"Commission or pleasure?" Lazarus spoke, humor slipping into his tone. The man looked up and laughed._

 _"Please, you think that anyone other then you hires me? Obviously, a pleasure project. That is, until a collector sees my fine work and offers to pay me millions for my complete collection. Then I can give you a million bucks to stop bothering me, and leave for florida to die in peace like all old men dream." The man struggled to his feet, limping around his work desk to give Lazarus a massive hug, which he quickly reciprocated._

 _"Only a million? Ph, please, double that to get me to leave you alone Dale. It's too much fun to bother you." Lazarus ended the hug, feeling a little off at the mention of leaving._

 _"Bah, don't oversell yourself boy, you don't mean that much to me." Dale shook his head, "You barely manage to pay me half the time, and when you do, it's for work that rarely is worth the effort." Lazarus rolled his eyes._

 _"Ain't like normal, though, I have actual work for you, not some twenty-dollar patch-up job on our…" Lazarus smirked, "Hero cosplay."_

 _Dale exhaled, scoffing, "Yes, your cosplay, which you manage to tear up, burn up and riddle with bullets at every convention you attend, yes?" Lazarus feigned innocent at the question._

 _"Those hero fans are vicious, I tell you, an All Might fanatic nearly tore my heart out!" Lazarus paused, before getting back to business, "I'm serious though, I need a commission, three, actually. Good work, good pay!" Lazarus watched the man waddle his way back to his side of the desk, dropping into his seat._

 _"Lazarus, I've given you a discount ever since, conveniently, the punks harassing me for extortion money disappeared around the same time you came in here to buy some second-hand hockey masks in strange colours. I know for a fact, that you need that discount because you are the most consistently broke boy I've ever met." Dale held up a hand to silence Lazarus before he could retort, leaving Lazarus to drop his tense shoulders and wait._

 _"As I was saying," Dale continued, "You couldn't afford one of my commission prices for my masks, let alone three." Lazarus waited, eyebrows raised. The man gave a tiny smile, signifying he was done._

 _"How much." Lazarus spoke._

 _"I already said Lazarus-" Dale tried to retort, this time, Lazarus silenced him._

 _"Gimme a quote, what kinda cash are we talking about here?" Lazarus spoke crisply, slipping several sheets of paper, with a bare-bones sketch of three different masks. He waited, letting his weight shift from one foot to the other as Dale appeared to be lost in mental math._

 _"Thousand bucks. For three? Yeah, yeah a grand for all three. Which I know-" Dale began, before he could finish, Lazarus took the wad of bills out of his pocket and threw them on the desk, eleven hundred dollar, smiling benjamins, scattered across the workbench._

 _"Last one's a tip. I'll come to pick up the red one in a few weeks, keep the other two until christmas, send 'em to my siblings as a gift." Lazarus turned to leave, hoping that the shock and awe would save him from having to answer any unwanted questions._

 _"...What did you do Lazarus?" Lazarus turned to see Dale's eyes cold and hard, burrowing into his heart, "What devil did you make a deal with for this wealth?"_

 _"The devil who's paying for your commission fee. Something- something...don't look a gift horse in the mouth?" Lazarus finished, done with talking._

 _"Did you steal it?" Lazarus bit his lip at Dale's words. Choosing not to respond directly to the comment._

 _"The money's good, I'm good, that's all that matters." Lazarus respond after an awkward moment._

 _Dale stood, his legs shaking, "You are...you've never let your morals-"_

 _Lazarus grunted, anger rising in his chest, "I didn't rip the money out of some poor old man's wallet, if that's what your worry is. The money is good. And it's mine now. How I got it? Doesn't. Matter. Call it taking my cut for all the heroics I've done. I think I deserve it after all I've given this town." Lazarus felt himself almost growl at the man, before calming his pounding heart, letting his temper cool._

 _Dale frowned, and then sat down, "You won't tell me."_

 _"I won't tell anyone, if that fact makes you feel better, this is one deal I'll take to the grave. Now, when can I come pick it up?" Lazarus began moving towards the door, speaking over his shoulder as he made his way to the exit._

 _"Two weeks," Dale spoke quietly, before speaking up, "Then I don't want to see your face ever again." Lazarus paused, his hand hovering over the door handle, before shaking slightly._

 _"You can't be serious?" Lazarus chuckled, turning around, feeling disbelief rise into his eyes. Dale's eyes were unflinching in return._

 _"I'll do this job, then my debt to you is paid. I see now that you are a dangerous criminal, a Vigilante, who clearly doesn't have the same morals as a hero. I won't sell you out, but I'll offer you no more aid. That goes for your siblings too." Dale gathered the money and quickly slipped it into his desk, leaving Lazarus flabbergasted._

 _"My- what? Hah. Oh my god." Lazarus felt his emotions load into a roulette wheel, seemingly spinning around endlessly in his head._

 _Dale regarded him coldly, "Please get out."_

 _Lazarus stepped forward, gesturing wildly with his arms, feeling tension grow in his limbs, "Hold on! Some repaying of your debts this is, old man, I risk my life, to save your sorry business, and life, but your big gesture of repayment is overcharging me for some cheap bits of shoddy fiberglass craftsmanship? Really? That's not just in my books." Lazarus watched Dale rise up to his full high, still shorter than Lazarus._

 _"Just? You know nothing of what is just, justice is what heroes stand for." Dale pointed a calloused finger at Lazarus's face as he lectured, which Lazarus swatted away, feeling his uncontrollable emotions take the reins from him._

 _"Oh? Oh! Hah! Wow! I'm sorry, really, sorry. I never knew that saving people isn't justice, I always figured it was a simple enough idea, but clearly, I'm just some dumb kid who thought that actually helping people was all there was to being heroic." Lazarus leaned into the man, causing Dale to flinch slightly._

 _"Don't fool yourself, I can see it in your eyes." Dale spat, taking Lazarus aback._

 _"Oh? What's in my eyes? Do the purple and black rings from late nights make me unheroic? Do real heroes get eight hours of sleep a night?" Lazarus mocked, hiding the underlying nerve that the man just hit._

 _"You don't do it for justice," Dale continued on, huffing with a half-laugh, "You do it to vent, I see the anger you bottle up, you can't find a constructive way to deal with it, so you pretend to be calm and happy, then snap like a twig whenever you get the chance to let it out." Lazarus opened his mouth to retort, but found he didn't have the right words in order yet, all he wanted to do was hit something._

 _"You've convinced yourself you deserve something for what you do. Guess what? You deserve nothing for taking out your anger on petty criminals illegally." Dale continued to rant. Lazarus put his hand on the table, needing to do something other then form a fist._

 _"I've risked my life- no, you know what?" Lazarus started, before chuckling humorlessly, starting over, "I've died. Died. For this town, for you, for the people in it, for justice. Again. And again. A few more times after that too! Hah!" Lazarus began to pace, resting his head in his hands._

 _"Congratulations, no one asked you to." Dale retorted. Lazarus felt like screaming._

 _"I just want to help people! So once, once. I said, 'screw it! The end justifies the means,' and got myself the green I need to actually become a hero who can help people. And not just some petty thug hunter, so what if it wasn't legal! You weren't complaining when I was breaking the law to help your ass. But no, the second it's my ass I'm trying to help, suddenly, I've 'compromised my morals,' right? That's how that works?" Lazarus spat back at the man, clenching and unclenching his hands every few words._

 _"You going to hit me?" Dale asked, his eyes following Lazarus's fists. Lazarus instantly relaxed his hands, opening his palms as he became aware of the sting from where his nails had been digging into his skin._

 _"You going to keep pushing me?" Lazarus snarked back, praying it would be enough to shut him up so Lazarus could leave. Dale's face curled in disgust._

 _"So that's a threat? You some big shot vigilante who goes around threatening old men? Huh? Going to make me pay a tax so you keep me safe now?" Dale prodded Lazarus in the chest, catching him off guard._

 _"I wasn't- you- that's not-" Lazarus spoke, not quite knowing where his words were going but knowing he had to say something, "I've not, threatened you- you- you threatened yourself! Okay! I'm the innocent one here, you are the one who started accusing- and harassing me!"_

 _"What?" Dale looked at Lazarus incredulously, as if Lazarus had gone mad._

 _Lazarus grabbed at his hair, feeling the urge to tear it out, "It's all your fault! You've gotten me all worked up about this stupid, meaningless crap! Okay! I was having a good day, I offered you the best goddamn commission you will ever get, and then you spit in my face! That's- that's the kind of person you are! Ungrateful, just like everyone! Me and my siblings keep all of you safe and you can't be bothered to help any of us when we need it, when our parents needed it! But you'll take our help with one hand while you backstab us with the other!"_

 _"I see it! That's right! Anger. Rage! You try so hard to be like your brother who's 'always cool' right? Like the heroes who you think you are so much better then because you don't follow the rules! You know what that reminds me of? I remember a woman once who- who…" Dale picked up steam, before the words died in his throat, the room descending into a tense silence._

 _"What." Lazarus didn't hold back, growling the word through his snarled lip._

 _"Nothing. Like- like a villain. A woman I knew who was a villain, that's it." Dale finished, suddenly seeming so much more weary and frail, Lazarus didn't care._

 _"What were you going to say? No, please! Finish your sentence." Lazarus took a step forward, shoving the desk back slightly as he did, cornering the man. Lazarus knew he was going too far, but he couldn't stop himself, not until he knew._

 _Dale said nothing, looking away, fear and shame on his face. The answer dawned on Lazarus._

 _"...like my mother, right?" Lazarus spoke, his voice empty, but curious._

 _Silence filled the room, a pregnant silence that spoke volumes._

 _"You Bastard!" Lazarus screamed, grabbing the edge of the desk and flipping it on it's side, grabbing Dale by the collar and pulling him off balance. Dale's legs collapsed under him, leaving him being held by Lazarus alone._

 _"Please!" Dale begged, his bravado gone, and Lazarus felt something deep inside of his awaken, a pit in his chest that had been dormant for his whole life._

 _"Stop! For both our stake you idiot, stop!" A voice echoed in his ear, and Lazarus paused, looking for the voice that had no body._

 _At the same moment, the door burst open, and Newtonia, followed by Isaac, ran into the room, hidden weapons drawn, prepared for a fight._

 _"Newtonia." Lazarus muttered, it must have been her, as he thought about it more, he was sure the voice must have been feminine, it must have been her. That voice was Newtonia._

 _"Lazarus? What the hell…" Isaac muttered, his eyes wide at the scene before him, Lazarus paused, taking in the entire room as the tidal wave of emotions finally passed over him, leaving his mind clear if its influence._

 _Lazarus threw Dale back into his chair, where he landed with a cushioned thud, curling up to protect himself from Lazarus's wrath. Lazarus felt tears come to his eyes, the man's words hitting him twice as hard as he realized what he had done. Lazarus took a deep breath, wiping his eyes with a sleeve before turning to leave. He pointedly ignored his siblings as he moved towards the door, stopping dead in his tracks as he passed by a mask the flipped desk had knocked to the floor. He picked up the deep crimson mask, which now had a long crack down the side from where it had harshly hit the edge of the desk. Without thinking, he slipped it over his head, moving out the door._

 _"Keep the money. Forget the commission, I'll take this one." Lazarus called over his shoulder, from the doorway._

 _"I hope you die and burn in hell you scum." The man's voice rose from the chair, shaky, but defiant. Catching both of Lazarus's siblings off guard._

 _"So do I, but I've got a lot more to do before then." Lazarus spoke plainly, leaving the room, the destruction, and the consequences, far behind him._

 _"...I am just." Lazarus asserted. Assuring his troubled mind._

* * *

Lazarus poked his head around the frame of the bedroom door, refocusing his mind as he watched through the slits in his mask, as Blue turned his apartment upside down in an attempt to find something. Lazarus dropped his bag of money silently, kicking the bag under the bed. Lazarus turned his attention back to waiting for when Blue looked away. Lazarus gazed up at the rafters just a short distance above his head. As he looked back down at his hands, he rubbed his dark brown gloves together, stretching his shoulder as the thick burlap padding rubbed against his skin, the breathable material offering him a surprisingly full range of motion.

As Blue turned to the kitchen, Lazarus took two steps into the living area and leaped, wrapping the tips of his fingers around the cold metal beam, swinging his legs up to hook onto a better grip. As soon as his legs were in place, he swung a hand around and pulled his whole body onto the beam, crouching on top of it. The whole movement took Lazarus less than a few seconds to complete, and he watched through the mask as Blue turned around and continued searching, none to wiser to Lazarus's acrobatics.

"Just gotta get out of here, hide out somewhere safe for a bit, then I can come back and work on patching up the bullet ridden drywall." Lazarus assured himself, reaching to grasp his cube, only to remember it was still embedded in his chest. Lazarus huffed, he had to admit, he felt more energetic with the cube actually in his body, but the unfamiliarity with the sensation still left him weary.

He watched Blue intensely as he moved, hopping beam to beam as he navigated his way towards the door, recognizing the unique stress she wore on her face. It was the stress that came from your first kill; Lazarus had seen many people wear that face around him, but seeing it on her face still gave him a sense of failure.

"Ah!" Blue yelped, almost causing Lazarus to lose his balance as he grabbed for the beam, holding on for dear life as he looked back down at Blue, who was holding a completely obvious old-school burner phone in her hand, the classic ringtone obviously catching her off guard. Blue quickly answered, holding it up to her ear.

"Sir! Hi! Yeah! Sorry for not calling! I…" She shivered, clearly uncomfortable in the apartment. Lazarus had the feeling Blue could sense that she wasn't alone, but he hoped she had told herself it was all in her head.

"Look, he's dead, okay? I did it. It wasn't...easy. But it's done. I couldn't find that stupid cube you wanted though, and I'm not going to risk getting caught by a hero just so you get a trophy…" She spoke with a shaky voice, clearly on edge, only to quickly backpedal.

"N-no I'm not talking back, I just- I killed- I- I'm sorry sir, forgive me, but I can't find it. It's not here." Lazarus put a hand to his chin.

"Someone knew I had the cube, didn't know how it worked, eh?" Lazarus muttered, before biting his Lip as Blue's head snapped around, looking every direction but up, before slowly putting the phone back to her ear.

"Sorry. Done. Okay. Justice is served. Whatever. Your will is done." As Blue spoke, something primal ignited inside Lazarus, the misuse of the simple word sending his mind into a flurry, before he suppressed it with a sobering thought.

"Justice is served...my penance has been paid." Lazaurs spoke, once again barely above a whisper, remembering he had no one to blame but himself for this situation.

"I'll be back soon, okay. Thank you sir. Goodnight." Without further formality, Blue hung up and took a sad breath, shaking her head out as she rubbed her temples. Lazarus almost felt bad for her.

"Hey tenant!" A familiar voice yelled from outside, causing Lazarus's blood to run cold.

Blue turned leveling her pistol at the door, before slowly lowering it, hiding it behind her back, "please! Come in!" She called sweetly, in the same tone she had seduced Lazarus with. He felt sick to his stomach.

"You got a girl in there? Damn it, no rent splitting allowed! One person per-" The man yelled as he opened the door, his complaints silenced as he saw Blue's eyes. Lazarus looked away, even from above, he felt their draw.

"Hi! Who are you." Blue asked sweetly, but with enough force behind the comment to make it a demand instead of a question. The man obliged.

"Goro." He spoke simply, mechanically, as if he had no issues obeying her every word.

She nodded, smiling, "Well Goro-san, I think you should forget you came-" A second ring tone interrupted her words as she grabbed for the same burner phone, flipping it open.

"Yes again?" She replied, blinking and turning her head away, releasing Goro from his metal prison. Lazarus watched as he turned his head rapidly, taking in the destroyed space in a second, turning to Blue with a furious expression.

"What the hell!" Goro began, but was cut off by a rude finger by Blue, who then went back to listening.

"Sorry sir! Right! I'll remember to destroy this phone right afterwards, I won't make that mistake again." She sighed, and Lazarus realized she had been scolded like a child by whoever was on the other end.

Blue blinked and then tilted her head, "Who? Oh, that's just the landlord, he's no worry, I was just going to...what?" Lazarus's full attention was drawn to her as she uttered the last word, dread filling her voice, filling Lazarus with a similar emotion.

"..." Blue opened her mouth, then simply closed it, nodding as she listened, hanging up the phone without any further comments. Lazarus held his breath, begging silently for a different outcome than he anticipated.

Blue locked eyes with Goro, and instantly, the anger drained from his face. She raised her hand, gun loaded, "I'm sorry...but you've seen too much. I have to be the enforcer of justice." Lazarus felt anger rise into his throat, his fear of death suddenly abandoning him as righteous fury burned underneath his skin.

"You've misused that word enough!" Lazarus yelled as he threw himself down towards Blue, who turned, shocked, and very afraid. As Lazarus, cloaked in brown and red, glared at her, his mask reflecting death back at her, yet his voice unmistable.

"You-" Blue whispered, Lazarus snarled. Standing defiantly as he pointed at Blue, pulling everyone's attention squarely onto him.

"I am Lich; Vigilante of Justice. And this is your Judgement day!"


	10. Redemption and Revival

**BenchBeYolking here! Another surprise chapter right outta nowhere! I hope you all enjoy it! This one was a blast to write!**

 **...Coming up with things to write here is getting harder, but you know what isn't? Loving all you lovely people who keep reading and reviewing! Thanks for making it feel great to write! As always, I take criticism seriously, and I accept all praise with teary eyes. If you've made it to chapter 8, clearly I have to be doing something right, haha.**

 **Anyway, keep on rocking it! I'll let the chapter...speak for itself!**

* * *

Lazarus held his triumphant pose for a moment, waiting for Blue to react, after a stunned moment, she moved to raise her gun up.

Lazarus pounced forward, the combat feeling so much more familiar inside his costume and mask, as he wrapped a hand around her neck and used the other one to block her eyes. Lifting her off the ground as he turned to Goro.

"Run!" Lazarus commanded, and Goro obeyed.

"I'll be back with help! Hold on!" He cried as he fled, stumbling out the door. Instantly, Lazarus felt his foot twist, accompanied by several quiet bangs as Blue fired four rounds into his foot. Before Lazarus could react, she swung an elbow into his face, knocking his head back and causing him to lose his iron grip on her.

Lazarus stumbled back, he felt Blue shove him again, this time, Lazarus dropped his stance and swung blindly with a right jab, catching her in the shoulder, as she was sent stumbling back, clearly not use to the pain of close quarters combat. Lazarus readjusted his mask slightly to the left, as he walked towards Blue's unmoving position.

"I killed you!" Blue cried, snapped out of her daze as she lifted the gun at him, Lazarus laughed, but he heard it ring hollow as it was echoed back by the room.

"I am as unkillable as the ideals of justice." Lazarus threw his arms out, presenting a massive target as he walked towards her, his grim determination covered by his mask. Blue took a cautious step back.

"How-how?" Blue's hand shook, but Lazarus had tried pleading and mercy, he knew it was time for a different approach.

"I gave you a choice. You chose death. Much like I did to bring you to me, you made a poor decision. You were kind enough to give me 'justice,' as you put it. I feel it only fair I extend the same courtesy to you," Lazarus tilted his head, feeling the vengeful smile touch his face, "Theft brings death, then surely, death brings death." Lazarus lifted a single arm, extending it as if he were a gentleman taking a lady's hand, feeling his eyes burn with sadistic glee he had long kept repressed at her terror, "I've come back to take you with me."

Blue shrieked, the stress of the night combining with Lazarus's words to completely push her over the edge, she fired blindly, her eyes squeezed shut as she did so.

Lazarus laughed as several of the bullets flew wide, missing him completely, before one struck him dead in the heart.

Lazarus gasped, the air instantly knocked out of his lungs as he forced his eyes to look down, his metal cube embedded in his chest, dented on one side. A bullet clattered to the floor between his feet.

Lazarus felt his body shudder, his neck twisting, and suddenly, he wasn't in control anymore.

Lazarus felt his body swing around randomly, his arms jerkily moving every which way, his legs crumpling beneath his feet as he convulsed, every muscle in his body trying to complete a different task, his mind unable to parse the hundreds of impulses overloading it. Lazarus struggled to regain control, feeling helplessly trapped in his own head as his heart pounded. Phantom images of Newtonia dancing and flickering in and out of his vision. He remembered vividly why he never kept his cube in his chest.

Blue's face entered his vision as she stood over him, screaming hysterically as she kicked him again and again, though Lazarus couldn't feel a thing, he also couldn't defend himself. After unleashing her rage on him, she planted a foot on his chest, breathing heavily, her hands wildly shaking as she tried to keep her grip on the gun.

"Die! Die! Die!" She screamed as she leveled the gun at his head, then pointed it down at his cube, "I'll finish you off right here! No mercy! You die tonight!" Lazarus could only watch helplessly from behind his mask as she steadied her hands, putting the gun right over his cube, and then pulled the trigger.

Click.

…

Click.

Click. Click. Click.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

Lazarus's entire world was the blessing of the clicking of an empty gun, before with a sudden pop, Lazarus felt the dent smooth over on the cube, the natural beating of his heart having shifted the metal back to its regular form. Lazarus looked up at Blue, utterly devastated as she gazed at her gun, looking entirely betrayed. Blue's bright eyes became grey and cloudy in an instant as her words sunk in, and she had lost her chance to run away with her life.

Lazarus reached for her ankle and slowly pushed it off of his chest, standing up to his full height, enveloping Blue in his shadow. She looked up at him, and Lazarus felt no fear looking into her eyes, she had been beaten, and she had accepted it as tears streamed down her face. She smiled a pathetic smile, sniffling slightly as she did so. He felt something stir inside him, he couldn't leave her looking this sad, even after all she had done to him.

" _Be heartless boy, and don't be satisfied by simply the look of defeat, not if you want to save people."_

Lazarus reached out, wiping a tear from her face, leaving her confused for a moment, the sadness leaving her visage. Feeling satisfied with how she now looked, Lazarus asked a delicate question, one he hoped he knew the answer to.

"Do you regret it?" Lazarus spoke, the calm between the two of them seemed to stretch into an eternity.

"Not one bit." She replied, her voice dull, as if she thought she was being completely honest, Lazarus searched her face for a hint, or even a trace of remorse, and felt something dark inside him rise as he found none. A storm of emotions brewing behind his eyes.

" _People are weak, boy, they are cheats and fakers, but you can change that, you know how, don't you?"_

"You were going to kill me, and you feel nothing." Lazarus loomed over her, feeling helpessness mix with rage in his gut, a potent brew of unpredictibility surging through his bloodstream. Blue laughed hollowly.

"Go ahead and arrest me, Vigilante, but I'll be back, and by then I'll learn how to kill before I think. You can talk a big game about death, but I know who I am. I don't fear death." Blue spat, and Lazarus felt stunned, he felt empty.

Lazarus grabbed her by the back of the head. A fistfull of pink hair as he relized he only knew one other thing to do.

" _Don't try to be a hero, there are enough of those spandex wearing idiots about, the laws are corrupt and so are they… but we don't have to be!"_

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Please stop! Mercy! Mercy!" Blue cried as Lazarus dragged her by her hair towards the windows of his apartment, he felt his empty eyes gloss over as he mechanically moved. Blue desperately began clawing at the rough burlap and leather of his glove and sleeve, doing more damage to her fingernails then him.

"I guess there is a lesson you need to be taught, for everyone's good." Lazarus spoke, his voice crisp and clear. A declaration of his conviction and intentions. "I swore to hold off death by any means necessary, and to fulfill that conviction, I must change society by removing those who would bring death to it."

" _You must teach them, Lich, they should fear death."_

Lazarus reached the boarded up exit to his balcony, rearing his damaged foot back as he slammed it into the thin glass door, causing it to vibrate violently. Lazarus did it again, this time sending a spiderweb of cracks along its surface. He felt Blue tense as she realized where he was going.

"No! No! I don't want to die! I don't wanna-" Blue bawled as Lazarus kicked one final time, shattering the glass and knocking several boards loose as they tumbled straight down six stories to the dark alleyway beneath.

Lazarus released his grip on her pink hair, instantly, Blue turned to scurry away on her hands and knees, giving Lazarus the perfect opportunity to grab her by the ankle, keeping on hand on the empty frame as he tugged her out of the doorway, leaving her dangling over the empty abyss.

Over the sounds of her terrified screams, Lazarus scanned the blackness, seeing nothing below or around the street. Turning his attention back to Blue, he gripped tighter around her ankle.

"This is death! Which you would have inflicted me with!" Lazarus declared harshly, "Embrace it now!"

"Please!" She begged, Lazarus made it clear her words were falling on deaf ears.

"Make your peace with it! Let it consume you! Let it become you! Become one with death!" Lazarus screamed as he held her out farther away, his arm beginning to grow tired of the extra weight on it. His mind screaming at him to stop.

"I'm sorry!" Blue sobbed, completely breaking down, Lazarus pushed further, old habits burrowing their way past his mind, overtaking him, consuming him in his fervor.

"Who do you leave behind?" Lazarus spoke clearly, the crisp wind carrying his voice away as it left his mouth, even as the anger dropped from his voice, he felt the intensity remain.

"I-I-" Blue blubbered, trying to make sense, of her fear and her thoughts. Lazarus waited, letting his patience be put to the test.

"A sister! Two sisters, and a dad, and an older brother!" Blue confessed finally, a strong gust of wind setting her body in motion as she dangled backwards and forwards.

"Why did you choose this? Why did you choose death?" Lazarus spat the words out of his mouth, his mask shielding him from the wind, but not the chill creeping down his spine.

"The gang always looked after my family! I had to do my part! I just wanted to do my part!" Blue wasn't crying anymore, the wind had stolen her tears away, now her answers were reflective and clear in Lazarus's eyes. He felt her, and he knew she felt him. This was honesty, this was justice.

"Do you regret what has led you to death?" Lazarus felt his arm beging to shake, but he held on tighter. It didn't feel like it was his voice speaking.

"Yes! God yes! I was wrong! I never wanted to hurt-" As Blue began to lie, Lazarus lowered her down slightly further, both to cut to the truth, and because his arm was killing him. Instantly, her tune changed, the pretenses and falseness vanishing, "I did want to hurt you! Alright! But it was wrong! I don't want to die...and I don't want to feel the way killing you made me feel! But I don't want my siblings to have to feel like that! Someone has to pay the debt my father owes! But still! The happiest moment of my life is when you stopped me from killing Goro!" Her answer was full and complete, and as Lazarus looked down at her face, the words that had come out of her mouth had surprised her. Lazarus laughed.

"On the edge of death, the hubris of mankind is stripped away, and only honesty remains. That is the truth." Lazarus felt the words feel like copper in his mouth, words he had sworn never to say again. He lifted her up, slightly, so that she could bend her neck to look into his mask.

"Blue." He spoke aloud the name he had given her, his words carrying authority, "You have committed an act against society; a violation of justice. You pleaded you had no choice." Lazarus let his words hang in the air at the same hight Blue did, the only other sound being the wind pass behind him, ruffling his costume in the night sky.

"I, as unworthy to do so as I am, have judged your heart, and now I pass my verdict. I choose-" Lazarus lifted her foot high, heaving her upwards.

Before releasing her ankle and letting her fall.

An unearthly sound left Blue's lips as she went into freefall for the quarter of a second it took Lazarus to catch her, as he wrapped his other hand around her midsection and used the strength of his non-tired hand to drag her back inside the apartment. Leaving her emotionally fragile body prone on the floor as he felt fatigue overtake him.

Lazarus took a few deep breaths, standing between Blue and the certain death of the drop, centering himself as he forced his emotions to obey his command. "Life… My final judgement is over."

Lazarus moved forward, his body as tired as his mind as he grabbed Blue by the shoulder and flipped her over, looking her dead in her eyes, which reflected back to him emotions of fear, unsure gratitude, and deep-seated sadness, he knew he mirrored those same thoughts back at her.

"Justice, is sometimes punishing wrongdoers, but it is also giving the worthy the chance to make just, on the crimes they have committed. That is what I've learned. Justice is cruel, and inhumane, and I thought I could leave it behind when I left home." Lazarus reached up and lifted the mask, revealing his face to Blue, giving her a human face to connect with as the words that poured out of his mouth felt like his again. He felt the disgusting wave of sadism and fear mongering succumb to more normal impulses, the storm had passed.

"No one else will give you a second chance after you choose death. Once you choose death, once, you can never go back. I am the only one alive who can grant you absolution of guilt if you choose death against me, which I am giving you right now, freely." Lazarus rested a hand on her shoulder, as tears reformed in her eyes.

"Be free, Blue, to choose life. Know now that you have that choice. You stared death in the face and found in the void that your soul was not corrupt. You can save yourself still." As Lazarus spoke, Blue's eyes flickered with all sorts of emotions, from anger to happiness to numbness, and Lazarus took a shaky breath.

"You may pass your own judgement on my methods, so many others have, but I hope that you now see where all roads converge, and you can forgive me for what I just did to you. Next time you stare death in the face, you may not be pulled back from the brink. My advice? Go home. Be with your family. Love them, and cherish them and choose them over death. Every. Day. Choose life every day, and leave death to me." He ended with a deep breath, his own eyes threatening to bust with tears.

At the mention of her family, something broke inside Blue. She threw herself into his arms, sobbing and crying muffled apologize into his chest, who they were for was irrelevant to him.

Lazarus said nothing and did nothing, he simply offered her the right to recover. She deserved it after what he had just put her though. Lazarus put his arms around her, lightly, as to not trap her.

Lazarus looked down past Blue's crying form to see his hands shake, his own fear and doubts manifesting for a moment before he put them down, deep down, where they belonged. Now was not the time to show weakness. Now was not the time to mourn that fact that yet again he had broken his word and returned to his teacher's old ways.

" _Weakness is forcing you to leave, Lich, but that same weakness will bring you back to me, that fire in your gut will burn at you, and then your weakness will drive you to do anything to put it out."_

Suddenly, Lazarus train of thought stopped dead. He heard the sound of footsteps pounding down the hallway, instantly, Lazarus stood, leaving Blue to fall forward, curling up into a ball beneath him (instantly filling him with guilt). Lazarus pulled his mask back down over his face just as a new figure in what Lazarus could only describe as fashionable blue and white swimming gear appeared in the doorway.

"Freeze, I am Pro Hero Manual! Cease your violence immediately!" The hero who identified himself as Manual paused in the doorway, almost instantly taking in the scene, most likely noticing the bullet holes, the shattered glass, Lazarus's clearly menacing mask and costume, and the girl crying at Lazarus's feet.

Lazarus really didn't like how the scene painted him.

Instinctively, he threw his hand up in surrender, hoping to buy himself a moment to think.

"Detain him! Quickly!" Manual shouted without missing a beat, Lazarus tisked, his plan instantly failing as he weighed his chances of escaping out the front door, which grew more grim by the second. A second man, also in costume, and with massive muscles, appeared behind Manual.

"Relax boss, what's he gonna do, throw himself out the window?" As the man guffawed at his own joke, Lazarus shrugged.

"Eh, don't have any better options." Lazarus half-heartedly admitted, before bolting for the open window.

"No you don't!" The muscled man cried, sprinting to intercept Lazarus. Lazarus leapt, swinging off the crossbeam above his head to avoid the Sidekick's reckless charge, laughing as adrenaline pumped through his system. Lazarus reached the broken door to what would have been the balcony.

"Goodbye cruel world! The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways," Lazarus took a shuffle back, feeling gravity do the hard work as he began to fall backwards, "I to die, and you to live. Which of these two is better? Only god knows!" With the last word, and just before the Sidekick could reach him, Lazarus passed the threshold and entered free fall, Laughing as the world blurred around him, screaming out to those above him.

"That's socrates if you were curious!" Lazarus called out to the open air, which was all he could do before he hit the garbage bin previously six stories below him.

* * *

 _Lazarus slammed the massive garbage bin shut, hiding the knocked out bodies of the thugs inside as he dusted off his hands. He readjusted the mask on his face, the new and far more comfortable weight almost throwing him off with how easily it fit him, as if it had been made for his face alone._

" _Uh, Brother? Laaaaz, ehm, Lich?" Isaac awkwardly approached him, Newtonia clearly urging him to say something as she stood a few feet behind him, the two of them lifting their masks to reveal unsure expressions._

 _Lazarus smiled, leaning against the bin as he snapped his fingers, pointing at Isaac and lifting his new mask up, "what'chu need bro? I'm all ears." Lazarus knew he had come off as a little cold lately, and after the incident with Dale, he hadn't really said a word about what had gone on, but he had been distracted by other things lately, things he knew he couldn't talk to Isaac about, not yet at least._

" _I um," Isaac frowned, a rare expression on the normally always confident boy, as he turned to look at Newtonia whose eyes said, 'hurry up and just say it.' Isaac turned back to Lazarus smiling stiffly, "First off, can I say, thank you for having my back-" Lazarus cut Isaac off with a mid toned huh sound._

" _Okay, you never sugarcoat things, what's up? Really?" Lazarus cut right to the point as Isaac sighed._

" _You went really hard tonight. Like, scary hard. Okay?" Isaac admitted finally, wringing his wrists in a very abnormal pattern. Left then right, then left again, then repeat._

" _I go hard every night, thanks for finally noticing." Lazarus chuckled as he moved to walk by Isaac, only to be stopped by a light, but firm hand on his chest._

" _You nearly beat that guy to death, Laz, this is no joke." Isaac said quietly, and Lazarus could finally see the anger bubbling just below Isaacs unusually shaky exterior._

" _And he beats people to near death as well. And that's the key word, near. I didn't kill him. I'm not a monster." Lazarus lowered Isaac's hand and stepped away, shaking his head._

" _Did you want to?" Isaac said briskly, leaving Lazarus in shock, which quickly began to morph into a ball of lightning hot rage in his chest. Lazarus took a breath, calming the storm, he had to control himself, he couldn't do to Isaac what he did to Dale._

" _God, no. Isaac, what do you take me for? After all the times I've died, you really think I'd wish that on another person? Especially someone as petty as a thug? You know me better. Least I thought you did, bro." Lazarus finished, looking to Newtonia for support, who purposefully avoided meeting his eyes._

" _He threw up his hands and said he wasn't going to hurt anyone anymore, we could have just let him go! ...and then you just…" Isaac trailed off, the image obviously stuck in his head, "You may not have wanted to kill him, but you took him right to the point of no return. Why? Why would you do that to someone Lazarus, that's not like you." Isaac finished, and Lazarus couldn't help but laugh._

" _You don't get it, neither of you do." Lazarus put his hands in his head and felt the storm of emotions he had been repressing try to form again, "No one does. Okay? I want to prevent death. I never want to hear of another person taken before their time, but I've tried being nice, I've tried playing by the rules, then I tried breaking the rules with you two, but guess what? Nothing helps. The world is still rotten! When I beat that guy up, he stopped trying to play innocent and started swearing up and down he'd kill us all; that was the kind of man he truly was, and a man like that did not deserve the mercy of being let off the hook only to end up hurting someone else. What we've been doing, doesn't help. You know why?" Lazarus took a step towards his brother, who regarded him with the most deplorable response of all, pity._

" _Lazarus...what the hell man?" Isaac shook his head, "Who the hell has been putting this crap into your ears? Rotten world? We don't understand? Get real, then get off your high horse -than-death and stop being such a jackass! We can't even go to Dale anymore because you blew up at him, and don't think we're just going to sweep that under the rug, okay? Something's up. Talk to me. You're a hothead but you normally keep a cool head about these things. Please, I just want-" Isaac tried to take a step towards Lazarus, and Lazarus took a step back, holding out a hand to enforce the distance between them. Putting up a finger and lowering his brow._

" _This society is corrupt. Heroes, are corrupt, All Might, is corrupt. Hell, the whole world is built on corruption, but I-," Lazarus corrected himself, "We have the power to change that, by showing them the truth," Lazarus pointed at the bin, feeling his eyes harden, "All people lie, to the world, sure, we expect that, but it goes deeper. They lie to themselves. They tell themselves they don't fear death and because of that they are able to act like the death of others doesn't affect them. I reminded them of their mortal nature, and of the empathy they've tried to repress." He paused to breath._

" _I can take them to the brink, to the edge of the nothingness between life and death and show them their true selves, because near-dead men don't lie. Only then can we judge what kind of people they are." Lazarus looked into Isaac's eyes, seeing disbelief, followed by an emotion Lazarus couldn't place._

" _You," Isaac began, stepping closer to Lazarus and putting a hand on his shoulder, "Have gone, absolutely, raving mad." Isaac laughed, though there was a layer of uncomfortableness to his laugh, Lazarus didn't find it that funny._

" _My goals are not laughable." Lazarus asserted, feeling heat rise into his cheeks, Newtonia looked pale and unsure, and Isaac wouldn't stop laughing._

" _Yes they are! What do you think you are? The messiah? All praise Lazarus, on the third second he rose again! Snap out of it!" Isaac snapped, slapping Lazarus across the face. Lazarus, not seeing the blow coming, was shaken, almost falling to his knees with the force of the impact as Isaac grabbed him by the burlap on front of his costume and pressed his own head against Lazarus's mask._

" _Who the hell gave you the right to judge anyone, huh? We're doing this to keep the peace! Not enforce some screwed up sense of morality!" Isaac yelled in his face, Lazarus felt himself reach the boiling point._

" _Isaac! Enough! This isn't what we-" Newtonia's younger, calmer voice tried to enter the conversation, but Lazarus had enough._

" _It's not morality! It's justice!" Lazarus cried as he reared back and slammed his head into Isaac's knocking the other boy to the floor._

 _Isaac sat on the ground, dazed, clearly not use to being hit. Lazarus felt a pain in his chest, and he knew that was because it was Lazarus's job to make sure Isaac wasn't hurt._

" _Oh crap, no-nonono. Isaac, oh god, no, are you alright?" Lazarus leaned down, taking off his mask to inspect Isaac's nose with clearer eyes, hoping that it wasn't too badly bruised._

 _Instantly, Isaac swung and smashed Lazarus in the nose, bruising it in several places._

 _Lazarus was on the ground, also dazed, and a little hurt, both physically and emotionally. Almost instantly, Isaac was above him, smiling sadly._

" _Tit for tat man, rules of brotherly love, what one sibling gets the other ones have to get, right?" Isaac reached out his hand, offering it to Lazarus, who took it quickly. Rising up to his brother, before quickly wrapping Isaac in a hug._

" _I'm so sorry, I've...I-" Lazarus tried to find the words to confess where he had gone the last few weeks, why he couldn't tell them anything, why he had been so on edge, but Isaac silenced them with a sigh._

" _Don't get me wrong, you are wrong." Isaac ended the hug, but still kept a grip on Lazarus's shoulders, "Very wrong, and I will prove it to you. And then I will forever hold my status as the wiser, smarter, better looking, and best behaved sibling over your head until the day you die, for real, that is." Lazarus stopped, and then laughed, his emotions dissipating._

" _You forgot humble, somewhere in there." Lazarus ribbed, and Isaac laughed._

" _Nah, humble belongs to Newtonia over there, as well as best hair, and until recently, most likely of the three of us to commit a murder." Both Newtonia and Lazarus scoffed, before they both lost it in giggling._

" _Who said all that stuff to you man?" Isaac asked again, his laughter dying slightly, "No offense, you've never been a deep thinker, and I know how you speak, and that sentence was full of nonsense crap that you'd never say before. Where'd it come from?" Isaac's casual tone betrayed the intense curiosity in his eyes, and Lazarus knew he couldn't lie._

" _I've been talking to some people from Deep Well…" Instantly, the causal mood died._

" _Jesus…Laz-, you haven't…" Isaac spoke, a tired sadness in his voice, as if his worst fears had come true._

' _It's- It's not as bad as it seems, they're not as bad as the media makes them out to be-" Lazarus tried to defend himself, but Isaac cut him off._

" _Not as bad? They're a group of cyber hackers, anarchists, serial-killer vigilantes, online trolls, and nutjobs who are the sole reason we get hunted down for trying to help out! They're not just bad, they are objectively evil and working against the interests of peace! You know this Lazarus! We've had to fight them before!" Isaac rubbed his forehead, clearly trying incredibly hard to keep anger out of his voice._

" _Okay, look, maybe, yes, as a whole, they're bad news, but there's this one person; really well spoken, I took an interest in her, she took an interest in me…She's super busy with her work in trying to spread her message across the land, but we text chat and she sends me videos from time to time..." Lazarus tried to continue his story, only for Isaac to groan._

" _Did you join a cult? Did you get seduced by a cult leader?" Isaac wearily exclaimed, Lazarus sighed._

" _No! She's been teaching me, okay? I've- I've just- I've never realized how pointless what we're doing is, we're not fighting for any reason, okay? We're- We're just doing the job of temporary heroes! There are enough heroes out there keeping the status quo, what the world needs is people who will change the world! Who will make it better! Don't you want to make the world better? Right guys?" Lazarus tried to use the same words that had inspired him, but found that Isaac and Newtonia were not as open to them as he was._

" _Has she been sending you money too?" Newtonia asked quietly, and Lazarus felt his blood run cold._

" _Wha-what?" Lazarus asked, trying to pick up the lie half-way. Isaac wasn't buying it._

" _It's not hard to tell, okay? You blow your allowance the second dad gives it to you, yet you've been treating us to lunch and visiting Dale and the Tinker-twins alone. You've got cash Lazarus, where's it from?" Isaac tried to shake the answer out of him. Lazarus resisted the urge to get mad and run, and decided to try being honest for a change._

" _I've...been doing, bounties. For Deep Well. That's where I've been." If his original comment on Deep Well had killed the mood, this one buried it six feet under._

" _Seriously? Have you forgotten why we started doing this whole thing?" Isaac asked, not angry, but more disappointed, which somehow angered Lazarus even more._

" _Hey, I'm not doing anything I wouldn't do normally, okay? Take out thugs, leave some bruses that'll sting, and...then I take a photo to prove it was me and send it in online, they give me an address nearby and I go grab a paper bag filled with a little something! It's not like we can't use the money, okay?" Lazarus tried to bite back the coming confession, but couldn't, it escaped out of his mouth before he could stop it._

" _I've been intercepting dad's phone bill and paying it off, he just thinks he's gotten lucky and they're forgetting to charge him or something. A fifty dollar phone bill was causing our dad to lose sleep at night, what's so bad about helping him out along with the town? Huh? I owe it to our parents, no offense, more than you two do. He was kinda stuck with you guys no matter what." Lazarus ended, leaving the two blood sibling to look at each other awkwardly, unsure of how to respond._

" _...where's this money come from? Deep Wells isn't exactly filled with rich people." Isaac asked, clearly trying to clear the bitter taste from his mouth that Lazarus's last comment left._

 _Lazarus sighed, knowing the question was coming, "Well, the rumor is that some hackers-" Lazarus began, and Isaac cut him off before he could flower it up._

" _Stolen. Money." Isaac spat, and Lazarus deflated._

" _...Rich people-" Lazarus began, but Isaac's harsh voice shut him down._

" _No. This ends today. Laz, As your only brother, and as Grav; Vigilante of Peace, I am ordering you to never take another bounty from Deep Wells, ever, again." Isaac stepped forward and grabbed Lazarus by the side of the head, and Lazarus was forced to look deep into his brothers solemn twinkling eyes._

" _I won't lose you. Okay? You are my brother, and I love you, and I will protect you from becoming anything else but the upstanding man I see in your future. You care so much, Lazarus, you care more about the fate of other people than anyone else I know, but because of that, you sometimes forget that giving and caring isn't always reciprocated, and you have to accept that it's a bad world to be a good person in, and we can't change that. But we have to still be good people, because no one else is gonna take this crappy job off our hands. Cool?" As Isaac finished, Lazarus couldn't meet his eyes, not out of shame, but out of the tears that threatened to fall from his face._

" _Okay." Lazarus said, taking a breath and stabilizing himself, "I see it, no matter how many ways I try and say it, it is, what it is… and that's wrong. I'm wrong, god, I just...I want to be right, you know? I want to be able to see justice done. I know what I did was wrong, but...I- Dale." Lazarus went silent._

" _Every day I feel it get stronger." Lazarus spoke quietly, clutching at the cube in his back pocket, "The storm, these emotions, this anger at the world, and I just want it to stop, I feel so alone, at the edge." Lazarus opened up the floodgates, feeling years of repression escape._

" _I just...I feel like you can't understand what it's like to die, no one can, except me, and when I bring a person to the edge, even for a moment, and I see them embrace death and be totally honest with themselves...it's cathartic, okay? I don't feel so alone. I feel like for a moment, their honesty makes them someone I can finally form a connection with, even if they hate me."_

 _Newtonia reached out and hugged him, placing her head on his shoulder for comfort, Lazarus sighed as he kept going._

" _It makes me an awful person, I know. Yet it's the only way I know to save people. To make them see the futility of their actions. You can't beat someone into believing something, but you can make them rethink their life, and the only way I know to do that is to make them realize how much of it was wasted on nothing. I can do more than just protect people, I know that. I can save people, from themselves. I've...I guess I just ignored the cost it took to do that, and I've never tried another way." Lazarus choked on his words as Isaac pulled him in for a hug, and Lazarus suddenly didn't feel so alone._

" _So, I'll try, I'll try another way, I can't say I won't stop trying to save people, because I don't think I could do that, if I wanted. But I can try another way. I hope that's good enough, god I hope that's good enough… and no more lessons from Deep Well, hell, no more contact with Deep Well. I'm done. I don't need them, I just need you guys. My family." With that, Lazarus gave himself fully to the hug, the three inseparable vigilantes bonding together for a single peaceful moment._

 _It felt right._

" _Hey." Lazarus piped up, grinning, feeling his cheeks staining with tears, "Cut the older brother crap, okay? Four weeks, not that much time." Isaac laughed through his own tears._

" _Four of the best weeks of my life before you were born you little troublemaker." Isaac remarked, leading Lazarus to join in._

" _You guys didn't adopt me till I was four, what's this four weeks crap?" Lazarus shot back to Isaac's grinning face._

" _Your mere existence brough stress into my universe, I got my first grey hair when I was three in preparation for your arrival." All three of them laughed, and suddenly, the world wasn't such a bad place._

" _Promise me Laza- Lich." Newtonia spoke catching herself before she forgot his code name, locking her hands behind her back, trying not to appear nervous, "Promise me that you'll listen to us, alright? You can do whatever you think is right, but you have to promise me that if we say you go too far, you have to believe, us, can you do that?" Newtonia's wide eyes were irresistible, and Lazarus ruffled her hair, much to her chagrin, as he laughed._

" _Sure thing, here, I'll delete my contact from Deep Wells right now, just get that out of the way." Lazarus pulled out his phone and navigated to his contacts as he saw Isaac and Newtonia share a small smile, clearly relieved that everything had turned out alright. Both of them turned and began to walk down the alleyway as Lazarus tried to get the touchscreen to work with his gloves._

" _Stupid, stupid…" Lazarus muttered as he tried repeatedly to hit the 'delete contact' button, only for his phone to buzz and vibrate in his hand, Lazarus looked down, rolling his eyes as he realized it was in fact Deep Well trying to message him, but before he could bring his finger down, the header line caught his attention, and Lazarus's breath escaped him._

" _Lich! Common!" Isaac called from down the alleyway, Lazarus was frozen to the spot he stood on._

 _Lazarus felt his gut drop as he hit the lock screen button, slipping his phone back into his pocket as he ran to catch up with his siblings. His eyes cloudy as a storm brewed behind them._

* * *

Lazarus felt the world morph into a harsh kaleidoscope of colours and sound, before everything went dark, but the ache in his head told him that he was still conscious, regrettably. Lazarus clawed his way out of the sharp edges and foul smells of the trash bin, pretending he couldn't feel the blood trickle down the back of his neck, currently, adrenaline was overriding any other concerns he had about his body's state.

Lazarus lept for the wall on the other side of the alleyway, climbing up the uneven bricks before he reached the fire escape on the other side, slipping his body over the bars as he began to climb the endless, rickety stairs upwards towards the roof of the other building, his vision occasionally turning back to splotches of colour as a dull ringing seemed to persist in the back of his ears.

The climb ended suddenly, and Lazarus was on the roof of the building across the way, looking back down at the alleyway, now swarmed with police officers trying to figure out where a masked, half-dead man could have stumbled off to. Lazarus moved away from the chaos behind him, his eyes still locked over his shoulder, he felt himself collide with something ahead of him, the slight contact causing him to fall to the ground, his head swam, and Lazarus imagined with intense pain, if not for his quirk.

His vision refocused, and he looked at what he had ran into, his breath draining along with his hopes of escape at the pro hero in front of him.

The pro hero took a step forward, and Lazarus made no effort to move away as Stain bent down to look him in the eyes, saying nothing.

Stain reached out and grabbed at Lazarus's mask, his face strangely curious, as he removed the covering to reveal Lazarus.

"Surprise." Lazarus coughed, feeling his dreams flush down the drain with each passing moment.

Stain stared at his face, before he began to laugh, it was a deep, honest laugh, almost bordering on crazed. Lazarus could only watch Stain become consumed with mirth in shocked silence.

"So this is your conviction's true form put to actions? Preventing death by putting the fear of it into the guilty? Interesting… interesting indeed. It was certainly wise to let you live, if only to see where your path ends." Stain stood, and reached down, offering a hand to Lazarus.

Lazarus felt numb as he grabbed Stain's hand and pulled himself to his feet. Almost instantly, Stain moved to walk by him, placing a hand on Lazarus's shoulder.

"Be wary, young...Lazarus, was it? Be wary. This world is corrupt to it's core, and those like you, the young, the hopeful for a better future, it kills people like you, like us. People who see how we need to embrace what is wrong to allow true justice to shine." Stain suddenly squeezed down on Lazarus's shoulder, but Lazarus was too enthralled by Stain's words to notice the bone-crushing force being applied to his shoulder.

"I wasted years trying to change society, young, and foolish, I thought if I made them see the world as it was, they would work with me to change it. I learned that people in this world care very little for why people do things, only how things are done. That is the opposite of how it should be." Stain turned around, finally meeting Lazarus's eyes, and Lazarus saw himself reflected in Stain's red orbs.

"Don't let them break you, Lazarus, stay true to your conviction, and let none question your justice if it helps others. But know when to question yourself. Good luck on your path. I feel we will meet again one day." As Stain finished, he simply turned and walked away, leaping down the side of the building away from where Lazarus had come from, leaving Lazarus alone, and with too many questions, to think on his words.

"...He remembered my name." Lazarus grinned like an idiot, feeling elated. He had finally found someone, a pro hero, none the less, who understood him, who would overlook his issues with his conflicting morality, and would still give him the chance to change.

Lazarus felt for the knife at his chest, still there after all the ruckus. Yet again Stain had saved his life, and he would not waste it, he would change, and he would become someone worthy of the title he sought. At that moment, Lazarus knew, for all his flaws, he could still become a hero.

"Spread out! Find that masked assailant!" Manual's voice was carried to Lazarus by the wind, giving him the cue he needed to skidaddle, even with his most likely fatal concussion. Lazarus muttered to himself as he prepared to leap from one building to another.

"Downgraded from crazy vigilante to masked assailant, welcome to Japan, Lich." Lazarus grinned as he took a moment to rub the side of his nose with his thumb. He ran as he lept over the edge of the building and prepared to grab onto the ledge of the next one.

He missed slightly and tumbled down into the dark abyss below.

* * *

Lazarus knocked three times on the door, his hand leaving a red stain on the door as he returned it to it's position on the back of his head, his bruised body shaking from exhaustion and blood loss. Almost instantly, the door was opened, Hanta's tired face greeting him for half a moment before fear overtook him.

"What-" Lazarus took off his mask, revealing his tired, bloody face to Hanta, who quickly stepped aside to allow him entry. Lazarus stumbled into the kitchen, dropping his mask, before slipping off his costume, feeling slightly better without the weight on his back.

"Laz-kun, what the hell happened!" Hanta hissed, clearly concerned, Lazarus looked at Hanta funnily, feeling the cold hands of death beginning to wrap around his heart as he moved to the kitchen and washed his blood soaked hands in the sink.

"Laz-kun? I like it! Don't worry, just making myself comfortable…" Lazarus muttered more to himself as he stumbled to the familiar space, grabbing a glass in a shaky hand and filling it with water, chugging down the liquid as if it would give him a barrier against hell itself.

"Lazarus!" Hanta cried slightly louder, trying hard not to wake his parents, Lazarus assumed, "What's going on?" Lazarus paused, empty glass in hand as he felt something give inside his head.

"I'll tell you when I get back." Lazarus muttered as he felt his grip slip on the glass, as it fell to the floor and shattered, Lazarus fell immediately afterwards, but he was dead before he hit the ground.


	11. Advances and Anguish

**Hey everyone. BenchBeYolking here and...yeah.**

 **It's been a while.**

 **I'd love to say something dramatic like this massive month-and-a-half hiatus has been because of health problems, or time issues, or stress, but I can't lie.**

 **I've just not had the energy to write.**

 **Not that I don't love this story (and those of you who have made it this far/are sticking around) and for a while, this was the only thing that I really looked forward to doing, it kept me going day-after-day and gave me something to look forward to, the response to posting a new chapter.**

 **And I was so looking forward to writing the next chapter and seeing how everyone liked it...and then I just couldn't. I would sit at my computer for literal hours and just stare at the empty document, and after what felt like forever, I've finally written enough to feel okay posting it.**

 **I'm sorry for everyone who was waiting for this chapter, and I'm sorry to everyone new who might have to wait a while for the next one, I promise, I never forgot about this story, and I want to keep writing it for all you wonderful people!**

 **Feel free to leave a review with anything! Anything at all! Reviews are my fuel that keep me trucking forward (I'm fueled by ego, you see, and your reviews good or bad give me power XD) Even if all you say is that I'm a garbage person for making you wait for so long (which is valid criticism, I'll keep working hard from my trash can to deliver the best content I can!)**

 **Special shout out to ClimatingTheChange, TheSilverHunt3r,** **Victorsmyname, and everyone else who's left a review! You guys are the best, and when I was ready to give up on this story, I remembered I was going to let awesome people like you down and kept on going!**

 **Without further ado, I'll let the chapter, speak for itself...**

* * *

"So. You're a criminal-" Hanta began slowly, leaning over the dimly lit dining table. Lazarus watched him keep his elbows perched just at the edge, carefully keeping his body tense, while his eyes burrowed into Lazarus.

"Vigilante. More of an unrecognized public hero." Lazarus corrected, taking a sip of cool water from his new glass. Hanta frowned.

"So a criminal," Hanta persisted, "who stole money-" Hanta's voice raised slightly, Lazarus exhaled sharply through his nose, his face tinting red.

"I repossessed the assets of a criminal organization and donated it to a charity case." Lazarus asserted, Hanta looked at him with squinted eyes.

"You used it to pay for your school fees and residence here!" Hanta accused, Lazarus bared his teeth and gestured at his chest.

"I'm a goddamn charity case, Hanta. I needed the money, who would you rather have it? The people selling weapons and drugs to thugs to hurt people, or me. Deep Well was suppose to cover my tracks. No one was supposed to get hurt. Well, at least no one who didn't deserve it… wow I sound like the bad guy here." Lazarus reflected on his own behavior for a moment, disliking what he found, before returning to the topic at hand, "I guess I put too much trust in them." Lazarus gripped his glass tightly, his knuckles turning white as he felt his chest collapse, his body deflating from his core.

"So. What now?" Hanta asked quietly, fidgeting slightly as Lazarus reached down, picking up his mask, holding out in a hand.

"...I never wanted to wear the mask again." Lazarus replied, his voice feeling meek, caught half-way in his throat. He felt Hanta look up at him.

"Then why did you?" Hanta spoke slowly, trying to find logic in Lazarus's actions.

"Because it's all I know. It's a different world behind a mask, you are safe, protected. Nothing can hurt you if they can't see you. Bullets can tear my flesh and fire can scorch my bones, but only the recognition of society can truly hurt me." Lazarus placed his mask on the table and slid it across the Hanta.

"Why are you, no, what are you doing?" Hanta spoke, his voice beginning to harden as Lazarus remained silent.

"Lich dies here. This is my promise. As soon as I put down this threat against my life, I'll hang up the mask forever. I don't want to put you in a spot where you have to choose between upholding your morals and upholding our friendship. I just need you to trust me, I just need you to-" Lazarus felt emotions well, his eyes pleading, Hanta refused to make eye contact.

"Just- go to the heroes? Why not just leave this to the people who are actually trained to deal with this stuff?" Hanta finally met his eyes, and Lazarus saw how torn his friend was.

"Hey, All Might, sorry to bother you sir," Lazarus began to mock, "An international criminal cartel has marked me for death, do you mind opening an investigation into them? Why have they marked me for death. Oh, that's a funny story…" Lazarus trailed off, leaving Hanta to place his hands in on his face and sigh.

"...I can't approve." Hanta spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper from between his hands. Lazarus didn't risk moving.

"Once more, my friend, once I bury my past, I can finally be free of it." Lazarus spoke, reaching out and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. Hanta didn't move.

"I can't help you. Lazarus, you've dug your own grave," Hanta lowered his hands, and his eyes were deep and misty, "but I can't bring myself to stop you, so if anyone asks, you were never here. I've never heard of anyone by the name of Lich." Hanta stopped to compose himself, Lazarus took this as his opportunity to leave.

Lazarus stood, brushing himself off as he moved to walk by Hanta, who grabbed him by the arm roughly. Hanta looked dead into Lazarus's eyes.

"I've never heard of Lich, and I never will, right?" Hanta's words were cold, but his eyes were wide and hopeful. Lazarus nodded. The two of them stood there, eyes locked, an agreement made.

"Hanta dear? Is something going on? Is someone down there?" A groggy voice drifted down from upstairs, Lazarus recognized Hanta's mom instantly. Hanta gestured at the door.

"I'll tell them I dropped a glass, go, now." Hanta stood and moved towards the small pile of glass shards that Lazarus has swept into a corner after returning.

"Thank you." Lazarus whispered as loudly as he could, Hanta chuckled dryly.

"Don't thank me, I'd normally say you owe me your life, but, I'm actually going to say you owe me several of them." Hanta and Lazarus shared a small smile, before the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs began.

"Till next time." Lazarus spoke, grabbing his mask from the table and slipping it on, opening the back door, and with one final wave to Hanta, disappearing back into the darkness of the early morning.

* * *

His money bag back over his shoulder, and his costume back in his bag, Lazarus returned to his home address.

He sighed, the sun had yet to rise, but any traces of police or heroes had already disappeared from the scene of the crime. The building looked as it always did, a run down apartment complex that could easily be confused for a condemned site if not for the occasional light in a window. Lazarus shifted the bag on his back and moved up the cracked concrete path leading to the front doors. The overgrown grass on either side of the path seemed to be slowly overtaking anything man-made around it. The doors creaked as he entered them, and the dull brown lobby greeted him. The cheap wooden furniture and old-school clerk desk seemed to be hauntilly empty in the silence of the building.

Lazarus felt uncomfortable in the room, as if the Heroes were still waiting in the wings to ambush him. He knew he'd have to move buildings, after all, the police would want to question him as the tenant, and he'd need to make sure he could fly under the radar of the law. He had given a fake name to the building along with a bunch of fake contact info, so hopefully, it would confuse the police long enough for him to disappear. He crossed his fingers that Goro wouldn't remember him enough to give an accurate description of what he looked like.

A door opened somewhere to his left, and Lazarus jumped, his bag shaking as his eyes darted each way down the hall, only to see an elderly lady shuffling down the hall with her laundry, she gave a kind wave as she met his eyes. Lazarus returned the wave with a smile of his own as she disappeared into another room. Lazarus gasped for air.

"You think a police raid would cause this place to be a bit more lively." Lazarus remarked with a chuckle as he began to climb the stairs, knowing he was going to miss this run down mess of a place.

As he continued to climb the rickety stairs, he let his hand drag against the cheap and torn wallpaper that sportatically dotted the wall, the flickering lights and groaning floorboards had become home to him, it had become somewhere safe.

At least until he had died in it. Then it lost a little bit of it's charm.

Lazarus checked his phone as he reached his floor, the large number four and AM stood out to him. He sighed painfully, at this point, it wasn't even worth going to bed. The vigilante knew he had overexerted himself and today was going to be a rough one. Using his shoulder, he pushed open the door to his house, the creaking feeling welcoming for once as he walked into his home.

"Good morning." A voice greeted him. Lazarus froze, his eyes landing squarely on Goro, resting on a chair in the center of his destroyed apartment. Before Lazarus could say a word, Goro stood and moved to walk by him, smiling the whole time.

"I don't owe you anything, just so you know. I shredded any proof that you've lived here. As far as the police were concerned, this was an empty apartment that a crazy guy dragged a girl into to murder her. I made sure that Ms. Blue Eyes shared the same story. You won't get any trouble from the law for that incident, good luck cleaning up!" As soon as Goro finished his speech, he patted Lazarus twice on the head and walked out briskly, closing the door behind him with an echoing slam.

Lazarus stood, stunned in his destroyed apartment. Before walking towards the kitchen, opening his cabinet and pulling out his broom and dustpan. He couldn't help but smile. He had cheated death yet again, and done some good along the way. Lazarus began to work on tidying up his apartment, sweeping up fragments of his window as he became lost in thought.

"They'll send someone else." Lazarus sighed, voicing his fears into the empty room as he stood tall, "Maybe it won't be someone so incompetent next time. I have to strike first, it's the only way." Lazarus stood, looking out the shattered glass and out into the darkness beyond it.

"...But first. I have a school to go to. I have to focus on school," He reminded himself, "I need to be a hero, it's the only way I'll ever get what I need. Deep Well can't help me. I just need to be a hero. I just need to get closer." Lazarus reinforced the idea, and just as he did, his phone buzzed, and Lazarus looked down at it.

 _CONTACT: TROUBLE? NOT TOO LATE. FINISH WHAT U STARTED. KILL OMEGA._

Lazarus stared down at his phone, the text message burning into his retina. He began to type a reply.

 _LAZ: Did you tip them off?_

 _CONTACT: FINISH WHAT U STARTED. KILL OMEGA._

 _LAZ: You bastards, I did everything you asked, and I trusted you._

 _CONTACT: FINISH WHAT U STARTED. KILL OMEGA._

 _LAZ: You changed the rules. I'm not playing your game anymore. I lost everything because of you._

 _CONTACT: YOU LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF YOU._

Lazarus tightened his grip on his phone, Deep Well had been the devil in his ear for too long.

 _LAZ: Screw you. I'm out. Don't contact me again._

For a moment, there was no reply, and Lazarus hoped that it had been as simple as that.

 _CONTACT: FINISH WHAT U STARTED. KILL OMEGA._

Lazarus moved to the edge of the chat, navigating to the button he should have pressed months ago, block number.

 _CONTACT: FINISH WHAT U STARTED. KILL OMEGA._

 _CONTACT: YOU COWARD._

 _CONTACT: YOU'RE BETRAYING JUSTICE._

 _CONTACT: YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS._

 _CONTACT: PLEASE. JUST HELP US._

 _CONTACT: YOU KNOW WE'RE RIGHT._

 _CONTACT: DON'T YOU DARE LAZ._

 _CONTACT: WE'RE YOUR ONLY FRIENDS._

 _CONTACT: I'M YOUR ONLY FRIEND._

Lazarus stared at the rapid fire messages flooding into his inbox, his gaze only growing harder with each passing one. His finger just hovering over the button.

 _CONTACT: IF YOU_

 _CONTACT: DO THIS_

 _CONTACT: WE WON'T_

 _CONTACT: EVER_

 _CONTACT: HELP YOU FIND_

Before his contact could type another word, Lazarus hit the button, and instantly, the screen was greyed out, replaced by an overlay message.

 _USER: CONTACT Has been blocked, all incoming and outgoing message to this number have been stopped, if you wish to unblock this number, you can do so through your security settings._

Lazarus let out a sigh, a great weight being released from his chest.

"Sorry Sis...god I'm sorry...but better late than never." Lazarus spoke quietly, leaning against the frame of what was left of his glass sliding door.

His phone buzzed.

 _UNKNOWN: DEEP WELLS WILL NOT FORGET YOU. ENJOY YOUR MEDIOCRITY LAZARUS LAW. WE WILL NOT CONTACT YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO JUSTICE. -ADMIN_

 _UNKNOWN: I'M SORRY LAZ. I REALLY AM, I PROMISE. I HOPE BEING ANOTHER PLASTIC HERO MAKES YOU FEEL SPECIAL. GOODBYE._

* * *

"Wow Lazarus-kun, you look like death warmed up." Neito laughed as Lazarus collapsed into class 1-B. Lazarus looked at his dark phone screen, seeing his normally dark bags under his eyes had deeped significantly in colour. His hair was a mess and he was struggling to walk in a straight line. More then that, he was pissed. He had gotten unlucky. He hadn't slept, so he hadn't had the chance to reset his death count, he only had one regeneration left to start the one day he'd actually need to show off his abilities.

"Late night." Lazarus replied simply as he moved by Neito to slump into his desk, already feeling sleep beckoning him. He found the energy to lift his head, looking around at his class titter and joke around him, everyone slowly getting to know everyone else. It was only the second day of class, after all, and now was the time to warm up and establish the social bonds that would carry them all through the school year.

Lazarus pressed his forehead into the cool surface of the desk, groaning quietly. He wanted to participate, he wanted to get to know everyone, but right now, death was the only friend he wanted to embrace.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"English class! Everybody say hey!" President Mic called from the front of the room, Lazarus kept his face buried behind his textbook, struggling desperately to keep his eyes open as the blond haired hero yelled about english conjunctions. Lazarus had tried to get out of the class, but he ironically didn't understand enough Japanese when he was submitting his student information to fill out the papers required to prove his fluency in English. Life just loved to kick him while he was down sometimes.

"You! Listener with the red hair! What'chu thinking the answer is to number three?" President Mic spoke clearly, after a moment, a female voice replied.

"The...the past participle is in the wrong place?" The feminine voice sounded unsure, but President Mic's loud voice cut through any unsurity.

"CORRECT! Next!" Lazarus tried to block out the voice, a hard task to do when

"You! Listener sleeping in the back!" President Mic's voice carried over the room, Lazarus rose his head up, meeting eyes with President Mic, responding in English.

"Yes sir, Mr. President Mic, what is the question that you want to ask me? I'm sure I'll have little trouble understanding it." Lazarus paused as he waited for President Mic to understand.

President Mic paused for a moment, then suddenly pointed dramatically, "Whaaaaat? Are you an American?!" Lazarus blinked, feeling the bags under his eyes somehow make the gesture more slow and sarcastic.

"Just because I don't have blond hair doesn't mean I'm not a Foreigner, you know? Not all of us can win the genetic lottery." Lazarus spoke slowly, placing his hand on his chin as he gazed back at President Mic, who's eyes lit up like fireworks.

"Awesome!" President Mic screamed, Lazarus, along with the rest of the class, clasped their hands over their ears. Lazarus felt his entire head screaming back at the voice hero, his ears ringing loudly as he felt a headache bloom in his temples. As soon as his hearing returned (somewhat), Lazarus looked up at President Mic, who was patiently waiting for the entire class to recover.

"Wow, well that woke me up!" Lazarus chuckled, slightly concerned that his own voice sounded muffled to his ears, President Mic nodded sagely, before pointing dramatically at him.

"Good! Don't sleep in class anymore! It's not cool to 'snooze in school' Yeah! Are there any other Americans here, lemme hear you say yay!" President Mic changed poses a few times, turning the dramatics up to eleven in Lazarus's perspective.

Before he could say a word, he heard the distinctive sound of a chair scraping on the ground as the girl Setsuna had mentioned, Pony-Chan, stood up and meekly raised her hand. Her long blond hair falling over her ears, while not quite obscuring her face.

"Um, I'm an...American." Pony-Chan replied in perfect english as well, Lazarus chuckled quietly.

"So she wasn't lying." Lazarus chuckled to himself, before being hit in the face with a wad of paper. He looked at Setsuna, who stuck her tongue out at him.

"I may be manipulative, but I'm no liar, you know?" She rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the front, where from Lazarus's perspective, President Mic seemed to be having a posing-seizure.

"Awesome! So many students from other places! Now back to class! Yeah!" President Mic suddenly picked up the textbook and opened to what seemed to Lazarus to a random page, Lazarus took the opportunity to lower his head back to his desk, trying to nurse his growing headache.

"...I'm from China…" A voice spoke quietly from somewhere to Lazarus's left, he almost found the energy to look over to see who was talking, but found the desk too comfortable to rise from.

* * *

"Japanese Literature." The cement based hero, Cementoss, spoke as he began his lecture. Lazarus stared down at the book in front of him, unsure if his inability to read the title was due to his grasp of the written language, or the fact that his headache had bloomed into a full-fledged migraine and he was seeing doubles of the lettering.

Lazarus looked up and saw Pony-chan, sitting in her seat, a thousand yard stare in her eyes as a look of perpetual panic spread across her face, she flicked her eyes to the side, as if aware of Lazarus's eyes. They looked at each other, and a single nod exchanged between the two foreigners became a pact between failures-to-be.

He turned to his left, seeing a boy with a stylishly braided ponytail seated beside him, somehow looking more terrified then both him and Pony-chan combined. Lazarus reached out and placed a hand on the boys shoulder, the boy turned his head slowly, and nodded slowly, joining in on the pact of the non-native-speakers.

"No context, we die like tourists." Lazarus whispered, the boy took a deep breath and turned away, opening his textbook and flipping to the first page, clearly struggling to read the foreword, Lazarus did the same, but couldn't even find the energy to try.

The bell didn't ring for an eternity afterwards.

* * *

"Lazarus-kun?" Lazarus snorted at the unexpected voice, jolting up from his seat, his cheap sunglasses falling down his nose as he looked around the empty classroom.

"Right! Math class!" Lazarus loudly proclaimed, looking for the source of the voice, Neito shook his head smugly.

"That ended five minutes ago, you slept through the whole thing." Neito laughed, clutching suddenly at his belly, "The teacher just thought you were really focused, good luck catching up to the rest of the class." Neito smiled and patted Lazarus twice on the head, continuing to laugh as he left the room. Lazarus sunk lower into his chair.

"...I hate tuesdays." Lazarus stood, grabbing his bag as he walked towards the door. He got one step before noticing that Neito had tied his shoelaces together as his face connected with the floor.

* * *

Lazarus stared across the cafeteria, feeling the weight of the tray in his hands as he moved, his eyes scanning the room. He felt his internal battery running on empty. He could never describe what it felt like to fail to reset his quirk, it was somewhat like a constant looming feeling of dread. It was like he had dug his way out of his own grave, but half his torso was still stuck in the ground, like at any moment, he would be sucked back down into hell. All in all, it was not an experience he rated very highly.

"Poe-kun!" A boyish voice called from behind him, Lazarus turned on his heels to face a brown haired boy waving after him, his gut twisting in on itself at the name.

"Lazarus." He corrected tiredly, feeling the tray drop a little more in his hand. He could stand prefixes sometimes, but he would not tolerate being called Poe-anything. The last thing he needed was to carry that name around with him.

The boy looked confused for a moment, before he pointed at himself, "No, I'm Tsuburaba, Kosei Tsuburaba."

Lazarus looked back unblinkingly, his brain trying to deduce whether on not this boy was screwing with him or not. The genuine honesty in the boys eyes pointed to no.

"...If you're going to call me something that isn't my first name, please don't call me just Poe. The name Poe is nothing but a leftover bit of ink on my birth certificate that I'm forced to identify myself as in a legal capacity." Lazarus sighed, balancing his tray precariously in one hand as he rubbed his temple. Kosei smiled.

"Cool, alright Poe-ahh...Cube-kun." Kosei started, before stuttering for a moment, spitting out the last bit with a shrill unsureness. Lazarus tilted his head.

"Cubekun? What?" Lazarus leaned in slightly, yet again inspecting the boys face for a joke he wasn't getting.

Kosei rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Sorry! I panicked, I always see you walking around with the cube you fiddle with, so it was the first thing I thought of as a nickname. Kinda lame I know." As Kosei continued to laugh nervously, Lazarus relaxed.

"Well, it's still not my name...Nah, I'll take it. Sorry, I'm a little outta it today, you know?" Lazarus finally admitted, smiling apologetically as he yawned. Kosei nodded.

"Well I got that feeling from watching you in English...I guess you don't know many people around here?" Kosei spoke causing Lazarus to laugh, struggling momentarily to keep his balanced grip on his tray on his hand, moving his other hand to steady it.

"You could say that, I doubt many people here know one another that well, but at least most of them share a common language." Lazarus looked past Kosei to a nearby table, where several of his classmates were staring right at him, as soon as he made eye contact, they all quickly looked away back to their food, except for Neito, who smiled dastardly.

Kosei glanced over his shoulder, then quickly looked back to Lazarus, still smiling, "Right! Do you want to sit with us Cube-kun? We're all trying to get a feel for what the class can do, and you're kinda a mystery. No one has any idea about what you can do, and we figure it'd be easiest to just get the answer from the source instead of guessing."

Lazarus yet again looked past Kosei to Neito and his growing unnerving smile. Lazarus exhaled through his nose and shook his head, he wished he could figure out what exactly happened inside Neito's mind.

"Well?" Kosei asked expectantly, Lazarus paused a moment longer, before chuckling.

"Sure, Koooo, ehem, Tsuburabaruba-kun." Lazarus smiled as he stumbled through what little he remembered of Kosei's last name, Kosei's confused expression confirmed he had not guessed correctly.

"Uh, Tsuburaba." Kosei corrected, Lazarus shrugged apologetically.

"Right, Tsuburaba-kun. Lazarus nodded, feeling satisfied his mimicry of the name was close enough, and quickly stepped around Kosei to move to the table behind him. Lazarus glanced behind him to see Kosei quickly turned and followed, catching up to Lazarus's long strides just as they both reached the table.

Lazarus's eyes scanned the table. He recognized Tetsutetsu and his silver hair, Neito and his unhinged smile, and the red-haired girl that sat near the front of the class easily. The other person at the table, a black haired boy with with a white and blue headband, was someone Lazarus had seen only in passing during the class trial.

"Before anyone can say anything, yes, I go by just Lazarus." Lazarus said a little loudly and suddenly, cutting Kosei off before he could give any kind of introduction. Kosei chuckled and quickly moved on, Tetsutetsu rolling his eyes as the two people Lazarus hadn't formally met before exchanged quizzical looks.

Kosei pointed to the red haired girl, who smiled and waved, "Nice to meet you Lazarus-kun, I'm Itsuka Kendo!" The girl cheerily introduced herself with a smile, in Lazarus's half-awake half-alive state, a single thought made it to the tip of his tongue.

"Right, like the martial art! Kendo!" Lazarus felt himself proclame wisely, as if it wasn't the most obvious statement in the world. Kosei sighed, Neito rolled his eyes, Tetsutetsu slammed his head again the table, and Kendo herself simply raised a hand to her mouth to hide a amused chuckle.

"Good catch." She replied with a cheeky grin, Lazarus's social sense finally took control as he ran two hands through his hair and loudly groaned.

"Yeah you, you get that a lot, don't you?" Lazarus replied, feeling no less stupid then he did at his last comment. Kendo shrugged and continued smiling at him. Lazarus looked down at his open palm with a sudden need to wake up, with a single swift motion, he slapped himself across the face with all his might.

"Whoo!" Lazarus loudly proclaimed, the world suddenly slightly clearer around him as a dull sensation spread through his cheek. Lazarus observed that the audibly solid slap clearly shocked several of the students at the table.

"You alright?" Kosei suddenly spoke, concern and fearful confusion written across his face. Lazarus shook the uncomfortable feeling from his head and smiled, feeling the rush of blood to his most likely red cheek.

"Never better! Pain in temporary, and so is life for that matter, haha!" Lazarus ran his hands through his hair again as his laughter died in his throat, quickly moving on before his philosophy and actions could be questioned further.

"So!" Lazarus followed up, leaving no dead space between his comments, "Who are you Mr. Headband? You got some kinda, sweat based quirk or something? No?" As Lazarus tried to keep the attention of himself, the only boy Lazarus didn't know suddenly seemed to come to life.

"Yosetsu Awase. And not even close." The boy smiled and nodded. Lazarus smiled back and shrugged.

"Shots in the dark rarely hit their mark," Lazarus finally sat down, squishing next to Tetsutetsu as the other boy grumbled at Lazarus's pushyness. "Thanks Tet!"

"Still not my name Lazarus-kun." Tetsutetsu replied instantly.

"Call me Lazarus and I'll call you Tetsutetsu." He challenged playfully, Tetsutetsu frowned harder. Lazarus went to playfully punch his frowning acquaintance in the shoulder, only for his fist to connect with solid steel.

"HMMM." Lazarus screamed through closed lips, his eyes bulging as he grabbed at his knuckle, his eyes watering slightly as his tired body recognized the damage, "Solid biceps man. Just. Rock. Solid."

Turning back to the group, still shaking out his red hand and rubbing his red cheek, Lazarus rested his elbow on the table, "So, you all want to know what I can do, eh? Well, what if I want to know what you all can do? Howabouta...trade? Huh?" Lazarus smiled as he turned on the charm.

Kendo (who Lazarus immediately pegged as the leader of the little group), smiled easily and quickly pointed to herself. "I can make my fists super big."

Lazarus waited a moment before chuckling lightly, the table descending into silence, "okay...and?"

Kendo coughed, "Uh, yeah, that's my quirk? What?" Her unsure tone hardened a little as she narrowed her eyes at him. Lazarus, thinking quickly, threw his hands up defensively.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean, uh, that's…" Lazarus immediately regretted that his words were far slower than his mind.

"You know what they say." Lazarus finished, nodding cripticly. Kendo didn't move.

"What do they say?" Kendo responded, prodding Lazarus for an answer. Lazarus felt a bead of sweat form on his brow.

"They say, uh. Simplicity in the fists, is bliss in the... mist." Lazarus fumbled over his words. Kendo's eyebrow nearly left her forehead as she raised it up.

"I've never heard anything like that in my entire life." Her mouth flattened in a line as she clearly assumed both her intelligence and quirk were being insulted in the worst possible way. Lazarus felt the temperature in the room rise as he tugged at his collar.

"It's an old, english, saying. Doesn't translate over that well to Japanese, so it sounds really awkward, I know." Lazarus pointed, the lie slipping out between clenched, smiling teeth. For a moment, Kendo seemed confused, but considerate.

"Is it...really?" Kendo asked, Lazarus didn't know if she was actually unsure, or just giving him an easy way out, but either way he wasn't going to waste it. He opened his mouth to confirm.

"Oh! No, it's not." Pony-Chan's voice drifted over from two tables over from the group, Kendo's face fell instantly as Lazarus spun around, rising to his feet with fury in his eyes.

"Traitor!" Lazarus cried back in english, defeat in his voice as he saw Pony-Chan's innocent and confused looking face from the other table. Setsuna sat beside her, her relaxed posture contrasted by her devilish grin.

"What?" Pony-chan replied back in English, clearly worried and slightly hurt by Lazarus's sudden denouncement before Lazarus could fumble over any more words, Setsuna interjected.

"Oh, my bad Lazarus-kun~" Setsuna stuck out her tongue as she stretched out his name for a moment before continuing, "I was just asking Pony-Chan here about that 'wise' saying, and I couldn't hear her answer, so I asked her to say it louder." Setsuna took a painfully long drink of water as the colour drained from Lazarus's face.

"Why?" Lazarus replied quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, yet Setsuna clearly had no trouble deducing what he said.

"Because you make it so easy. Sorry~" She smiled as Lazarus sunk back down, turning sheepishly back to Kendo, who was staring him down. Lazarus coughed.

"Uh, how about, we just. You know. Start over?" Lazarus chanced, Kendo smiled, though there was a plastic quality to it that even Lazarus could notice.

"Sure." She said chipperly, her face not quite matching her tone. She stood up and offered her hand to Lazarus, Lazarus stared at it for a moment, before looking up at her now sly smile.

"I'm dumb, but I'm just smart enough to know exactly what you're doing." Lazarus spoke calmly as he rose and dust himself off. Kendo's face didn't change.

"You don't have to take my hand, it's just an offer to start over." She spoke innocently, but there was a challenge behind her words. Lazarus rolled his eyes with a tired smiled.

"Well, I did screw up my first chance horribly, and I can't feel much pain anyway. So I can't say I don't deserve this." Lazarus smiled widely and took her hand, shaking it firmly, "Alright Kendo, do your worse."

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Kendo's hand suddenly quintupled in size, gripping his entire forearm in a single handful as she raised her and lifted him several inches off the ground.

"Gah, yep! Wow!" Lazarus laughed, feeling the awkward feeling of not quite being able to touch the ground as his arm strained against holding the weight of his body from a single joint.

"My thing is I can make my hand super big," Kendo casually stated, causing several of the other members of the table to chuckle, "...Oh, and also, I'm kinda stronger than you'd expect." As Kendo smiled and laughed, she began lowering Lazarus back down so he could touch the ground again.

Lazarus quickly relaxed as Kendo released his arm and shrunk her fist back down, sitting down again with her hands folded across the table. He quickly copied the posture, opening and closing his hand to return the blood flow to the limb.

"Okay. Well, I gotta admit, I expected more after I let slip that I can't feel pain," Lazarus shook his head, glad that he had gotten off with just mild embarrassment despite his behavior. He looked up at Kendo and frowned, "Sorry, I'd blame it on my tiredness, but honestly, I'm just a series of poor life choices compiled into a single human disaster. I beg your forgiveness." Lazarus finished, before bowing slightly too fast, slamming his head into the table with a dull thud.

From where his head was on the table, Lazarus could feel Kendo roll her eyes, "I didn't mean to make such a big deal about it, no need to be so hard on yourself. It doesn't sound as impressive as some other quirks, but trust me, it can be pretty good when I need it." As Kendo finished, she paused.

"Lazarus-kun, you can rise now." Tetsutetsu flatly spoke from beside him, Lazarus sighed.

"I would, my friend, but uh, there was actually a fork directly in front of me I didn't notice, and I think I've stabbed myself in the forehead." As if to prove his point, Lazarus brought his head up, crossing his eyes to see the long end of the fork directly in front of his nose for a moment before it feel to the table. As soon as it did, four thin trickles of blood started running down his nose.

Several of the members of the table recoiled, Lazarus looked around at their varying levels of worry before shrugging again, "Relax, it doesn't hurt." Without missing a beat, Lazarus reached over to where Neito was sitting and grabbed his napkin, wiping the blood from his face and placing it over his forehead to stop the blood flow.

"Hey!" Neito complained, Lazarus silenced him with yet another shrug, closing his eyes as he resisted the urge to roll them.

"Call this payback for tying my shoes together." Lazarus shot back, Neito looked offended.

"I would never stoop to such a stupid trick as to tie your shoelaces together, you moron! What made you think I did it?" Neito's laughter confused Lazarus for a moment longer than it should have.

"Well if you didn't-" Lazarus began, before Setsuna walked by their table, carrying her empty tray as she gave Lazarus an earnest smile, Lazarus returned a hardened stare.

"Too. Easy." Setsuna called over her shoulder as she walked off, leaving Lazarus to rub his temples, a difficult task to accomplish while he also tried to keep the napkin on his forehead.

"I guess I'll go next?" Kosei interjected, clearly waiting for his turn to speak, Lazarus turned to him, nodding to show he was giving his full attention.

He pointed to himself and smiled, "I can solidify air, just breath in…" Kosei took a moment to take a breath of air in, before exhaling, causing a solid disk about the size of his hand to appear a few inches in front of his mouth, suspended in space.

"Hey! Nice!" Lazarus looked at the disk, poking it slightly to confirm it's solid nature. Kendo crossed her arms and shook her head haughtily.

"So I have to work hard to make you like my quirk, and he gets a 'nice' right off the bat?" Kendo leaned over to leer at Lazarus, who shifted back slightly.

"Uh, I learn from my mistakes?" Lazarus risked, unsure if Kendo was actually upset, pretending to be upset, or pretending to be upset to mask the fact that she was actually upset. Kendo laughed and reached over to slap Lazarus on the shoulder, a little harder then he was use to.

"Kidding Lazarus-ku, uh, Lazarus." She smiled as she quickly corrected herself, Lazarus smiled back, feeling relief spread through his body. He nodded, before turning back to Kosei again.

"As I was saying, that's pretty cool. How strong is it? Force wise I mean? Can it stop an armored car?" Lazarus noted Kosei's face fall a bit before he recovered.

"No, uh, it'll stop most people in their tracks if I take a big breath, but it can be shattered, and these smaller ones are pretty weak. But yeah, that's my thing." Kosei nodded, and Lazarus nodded back, keeping his mouth shut on making any random comments he'd end up regretting.

Tetsutetsu looked at Lazarus and sighed, "I can turn my body into steel."

Lazarus smiled, "Ah, a hardening ability! Simple but effective!" Tetsutetsu sighed.

"Not quite hardening, it's dependent on my diet, not really my stamina, though I can't say it doesn't play a part in my ability to use it." Tetsutetsu corrected, Lazarus put his head on his hands, propping himself up by his elbow as he considered the ability.

"Huh, alright, interesting, well, I've seen it's raw power, so I can't really say much about it. How about you Neito? I assume your power isn't just identical to Tet over here." Lazarus switched gears, pointing lazily at Neito's smiling face.

Neito chuckled over the sound of Tetsutetsu mumbling about Lazarus's nickname for him, "I have to keep a few secrets, no? Why don't you try guessing, I'll give you three-" Before Neito could continue, Kendo rolled her eyes and spoke up.

"Mimicry, Monoma-kun can copy the quirk of anyone he touches." Neito stiffened as Kendo cut right through his game, Neito shook his head dejectedly and looked back at Lazarus.

"...Yes, that's my thing. There is a time limit to it, and I can't mix and match quirks at the same time, but it's quite the all-rounder." As Neito finished, Lazarus finally conected the mental dots and remembered that Neito's last name was Monoma.

"Ah, I see," Lazarus nodded, before the implications of Neito's powers hit him, "Holy crap! Mimicry? That's crazy!" Lazarus stood up out of his seat, leaning closer to Neito who chuckled.

"It's fantastic, being surrounded by so many fantastic quirks means I have quite the arsenal at my command." Neito spoke confidently, and Kosei gasped overdramatically.

"Why, everyone, I think that was almost a compliment from Neito! It's finally happened! He loves us!" As Koshi finished, Lazarus couldn't help joining everyone in laughter as Neito wrinkled his nose.

"While your quirks are fantastic, you could all learn a thing or two about strategy and thinking ahead from my intellect…Don't take a little praise as me saying your anywhere near my level!" Neito asserted his dominance, only for Yosetsu to finally speak up.

"We should all feel blessed, our lord and savior Monoma-kun acknowledged it was praise!" As Yosetsu spoke, his eyes rolled in such an arc that Lazarus was concerned they were going to roll right out of his skull. Another bout of laughter ensued. Neito crossed his arms and huffed, staying quiet.

"Yosetsu-kun what-" Before Lazarus could say anything else, Yosetsu cut him off.

"Okay seriously what the hell is up with what you call people?" He briskly cut Lazarus off, and for a moment, he could do nothing but stare blankly back at the black haired boy.

"Eh?" Lazarus spoke, his face twisting until an unsure smile.

"You call Monoma-kun Neito, just his first name, like you clearly like to be referred by; But, you call Kendo-chan Kendo, her family name, and yet don't use honorifics; You refer to me by my first name, and use honorifics; and finally, you just don't refer to Tsuburaba-kun as anything, you just avoid using any name!" As Yosetsu finished, the group seemed to all turn to face Lazarus, the question hanging in the air. Lazarus stood up and gave the only response that made sense.

"I'm an American! Therefore, I am utterly hopeless when it comes to understanding foreign cultures!" Lazarus placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest in a very classical All-Might pose. Silence descended over the table.

"Well is he wrong- ow!" Neito began to snark, but was cut off by Kendo reaching over and punching him in the arm. Kendo sighed and turned back to Lazarus, clearly wanting a more complete answer.

"Okay, so, to be completely honest, I just kinda remember whatever name sticks in my head, I don't mean to offend anyone with my honorific-less head, but I spend half of every conversation putting every sentence through a mental english blender," Lazarus let out a sigh, "If it does bother anyone, seriously, I'll remember your family name and get the right honorific through my skull, I swear." As Lazarus finished, a more relaxed silence filled the area as everyone settled back down and traded glances.

"Well…" Kendo began, clearly trying to think of what she wanted to say, Lazarus tried to listen.

"It's not actually that big of a deal." Tetsutetsu sighed, shaking his head with a smile, it's really manly that you were willing to admit it, I respect that at least. It's a little wonky, but so are you so, I'll live with it." As Tetsutetsu finished, the group broke out into quiet agreement, everyone nodding as Lazarus deflated, the tension he held in his gut finally releasing its hold on him.

"Hah!" Neito laughed, tears at the edge of his eyes, "You are all such pushovers, what? He says he 'might' change his ways and suddenly you all forgive him?" As Neito laughed, Lazarus let out a breath, smiling sadly.

"If it bothers you that much," Lazarus stretched his mouth for a moment to warm up his jaw, "then I can start calling you by your proper name Monoma-kun." As Lazarus finished, Neito's laughter died, before he coughed.

"Okay, that does sound incredibly weird coming from you." Neito seemed a little uncomfortable, Lazarus shrugged.

"I'm sure once I get use to it you'll get used to it too Monoma-kun!" Lazarus forced a little cheer into his voice. Neito snapped.

"Just go back to calling me Neito you idiot! It's driving me crazy to hear you call me that!" Neito groaned as he sunk back into his seat, Lazarus tried not to look ecstatic, but knew he was failing miserably.

"It's not like I like you or anything baka!" Kosei mocked, as Neito's face froze in a combination of embarrassment and irritation. Lazarus felt there was a reference here he wasn't really getting.

"Okay, so back at the task at hand, Yosetsu! Hit me with your power, we saved the best for last!" Lazarus snapped his finger as the attention at the table turned back to the boy with the headband.

"Hardly, my power isn't that flashy, I can weld things together at the molecular level, once I touch two objects together, nothing is getting them unstuck. It's not so much a combat power, but I've found ways to use it well." As he finished, Lazarus didn't have much to say, nodding as he considered how welding could be beneficial in combat.

"So that's everyone right? An interesting and fantastic table full of quirks!" Lazarus smiled and looked at Kendo, smiling a little wider, "I mean that honestly!" Kendo chuckled and everyone else smiled.

"Not everyone actually, you've gotten your side of the deal, now I think we deserve ours, spill it Lazarus-kun, what's your thing." As Kendo spoke, she leaned forward, clearly waiting for her curiosity to be sated. As Lazarus let his eyes flicker over the group, everyone but Neito seemed incredibly engaged.

"It's nothing too special, my thing is I-" Before Lazarus could launch into his explanation, Neito leaned forward in his chair, and Lazarus shut his mouth, knowing exactly what was going to happen next.

"You can come back from the dead, right?" Neito's words washed over Lazarus as he rolled his eyes. The rest of the table sat in shocked silence.

"...What?" Kosei looked from Neito to Lazarus, as if to receive some sort of confirmation.

"Astute guess Neito, right on the money. It's not nearly as impressive as it sounds when described like that, though." Lazarus leaned back as the shocked faces failed to shift. Neito snapped his fingers and laughed.

"Oh I knew it, it was an educated guess, but far more put together than all of your guesses! Hahaha!" Neito's laughter was the only sound in the room as Tetsutetsu turned towards Lazarus.

"What do you mean, 'from the dead?' do you have regenerative abilities?" At Tetsutetsu spoke, Lazarus felt his smile grow, it wasn't often he got to actually 'describe' his ability to people, regardless if they, or him, for that matter, would understand it.

"Not quite, it's a little hard to describe without an example, and forgive me if I'm not in any rush to off myself for the sake of a demonstration," Lazarus chuckled to himself, feeling a little giddy, "Uh, it's kind of like… if you think of a video game, it's a respawn. Yeah, like a respawn." Lazarus tried to force the not-quite-accurate example to work. Especially as he noticed recognition flash behind Tetsutetsu's eyes.

"Whenever I hit my physical threshold and, well, die. Then I respawn from my respawn point," Lazarus pulled his cube out of his pocket and held it out to see, "Which is right here. If I lose my respawn point, I can't come back, and also maybe-probably die for good." Lazarus shrugged and pocketed his cube again.

"Okay," Kendo asked, clearly trying to wrap her head around his quirk, before smirking, "...and?"

Lazarus laughed, throwing his hands up in defeat, "It's flashy, but not in the kinda way that people like. Most people don't wanna see their heroes get disemboweled, even if they can come back," Lazarus paused for a moment something else coming to his mind.

"I also can't really feel pain. Well, I can, it's weird. I can still feel pain, but there's not really a difference between the different pain I feel. Stubbing my toe and losing an arm are both equally inconvenient for me." Lazarus finished, scratching the bridge of his nose as he waited for any more questions, if anyone had any, they were staying quiet with them.

"So," Neito spoke up, surprising Lazarus a little, "You're basically just a normal guy who can lose a fight multiple times in a row?"

Lazarus said nothing, his mind blanking as he gazed at Neito's neutral face. The rest of the table seemed divided between the two of them, unsure of how Lazarus would respond.

"I mean, fair enough, yeah." Lazarus shrugged and nodded, wincing at the brutality of the answer.

Kendo judo chopped Neito in the neck.

Lazarus binked twice as Neito went face down on the table, out cold. Kendo shook her head and sighed.

"Is...is he alright?" Lazarus asked, feeling his voice grow a little more timid as his fear of Kendo and her massive fists of fury grow.

"He'll be fine," She waved him off, which only increased his concern, "More importantly, you shouldn't doubt yourself Lazarus." She smiled, Lazarus chuckled darkly.

"Aw, but I'm so good at doing it." Lazarus smiled as Kendo's smile turned to a frown.

"Lazarus, I mean this honestly, your quirk is really unique." As Kendo began, Lazarus sighed.

"I know you mean well, but trust me, I've heard this pep talk before. 'Unique!' 'Rare!' 'Unheard of!' 'One of a Kind!' You know what they all mean? Sugar. All sugar coated word because they can't say what they really mean, kinda useless for a hero." Lazarus took a breath as Kendo stared at him. He smiled sadly.

"It's a weird quirk, quirky, if you don't mind the joke. Sure when you first hear it, it sounds fantastical. I mean, coming back from the dead sounds like something everyone wants to do, but that's the thing, it's fantastic if there's something else you can do. Dying to your foe is not a sign that you are winning a fight." Lazarus sighed, dabbing at his forehead as the flow of blood finally stopped.

"Okay, fine," Kendo sighed, drumming her fingers on the desk, before pointing at him, "But it's not the quality of the quirk, it's how you use it. I'm sure you'll find out how to make the best of it here at UA!" Kendo smiled and Lazarus felt a warm feeling in his chest (where he supposed his heart would be) and laughed.

"Okay, I see why you're the de-facto leader of the gang." As Lazarus finished, Kendo stiffened, turning slightly red.

"I-I'm not the leader, haha, I'm just…" Kendo looked around for support, but Lazarus watched her grow redder as everyone nodded in agreement with Lazarus.

"You'd have to be a moron not to notice you're in charge." Neito mumbled from his face down position on the table. Kendo buried her face in her hands.

"You guys, seriously! I'm not trying to take charge here…" Kendo spoke from behind her hands, the table decended into laughter as everyone return to their food, Lazarus noted that he had not been asked to move or leave, and he had no want to do so. As Lazarus began to eat, he felt a smile touch his face, every so often glancing at the others at the table, making idle small talk in between bites of rice. He considered starting another big conversation, but decided against it, quietly eating his own food, simply enjoying the company of being around others.

* * *

Lazarus looked down at the scrawled note on his book, the number of a locker in the changeroom, as he looked at his uniform inside it, he felt a fear grip his chest, the afternoon was beginning, no more regular subjects, now it was time for why he really came.

"Lazarus!" Tetsutetsu yelled from behind him, Lazarus turned, seeing his friend's costume. A metal cross showing off his bare arms and upper chest, the rest of his body protected by thick fabric. For a moment, Lazarus could hardly believe where he was, and what was about to happen.

"You wanna be late for the first Heroics Class, huh?" Tetsutetsu waved his arms, clearly trying to snap Lazarus out of his daze. For a moment, Lazarus didn't react, before his mind returned to the task at hand.

"Right, right! I'm just throwing on one last thing!" Lazarus looked down at his purple gloves, the colour feeling so off compared to the red he had worn for so long. Lazarus relaxed as Tetsutetsu finally walked away. Slipping the heavy dark purple jacket on, he quickly snapped the simple magnetic buckles on the front together, allowing his to easy remove the garmate when he inevitably received a wound he needed to staple together to extend his life. Making sure he was alone, He undid the top buckle and slipped Stain's knife into a hidden inner pocket, keeping it close to his chest.

Reaching for the final few items in the briefcase he had received from the support company, Lazarus held the hefty, but surprisingly light metal collar in his hand, chuckling at the skull and crossbones on the tiny bottles attached to tubes on the side of the device. Lazarus remembered yet again that he couldn't really make use of his regeneration today as he carefully locked the collar onto his neck, twisting his body to make sure it would stay on. He prayed that he could make it one day without needing to die multiple time. He prayed, but he didn't expect it.

Taking the next item from the costume case, he wrapped the scarf around his neck, both as an admitted aesthetic choice and a way to prevent others from noticing he was carrying a bunch of poisons on his throat. Finally he reached the last item, a mask.

For a moment, all Lazarus could do was stare, it was exactly how he ordered it, a perfect recreation of his red vigilante mask, except in purple. Yet as Lazarus looked at it, he realized it wasn't quite a perfect recreation. It lacked character, it lacked flaws. It wasn't made by the rough hands of an old man who loved what he did, it was the product of a machine, with flawless edges and no room for error. No story behind it.

Lazarus placed the mask back in the box, instead reaching into his school bag and pulling out his hair product, squirting a massive handful of gel into his hand as he ran it through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes and to the back of his head.

Satisfied, Lazarus turned, feeling the weight of his steel toed reinforced shoes, the growing warmth of his bullet proof jacket, and the hunger for combat igniting in his soul.

Leaving the changeroom, Lazarus joined Tetsutetsu, moving down the long hallway towards the training area for their first hero class. The two said nothing, moving in silence. As they reached the end, Lazarus saw Neito leaning up against the wall, his dapper suit drawing Lazarus's eyes, almost causing him to miss the pocket watches on the blond's belt.

"You're cutting it close." Neito chuckled, looking between the two of them, Lazarus smiled, but it was Tetsutetsu who spoke.

"You're the one who waited up for us." As Tetsutetsu finished, Neito laughed, standing up while brushing himself off, nodding his head as his joined the two of them as they passed him.

As they reached the end of the tunnel, the light blinded Lazarus for a moment, but as soon as his eyes adjusted, he felt the air escape from his lungs.

The entire class, those he knew, and those he didn't, stood before him. They were in every colour and shape, some nervous, some utterly focused, but they all looked like heroes to be. Lazarus stood among them, adjusting his gloves as his classmates chatted, talking about their costumes, about the weather, anything but the unsureness of what was about to happen.

In his own costume, red and imposing, Kan stood in the center of them all, and even though he knew he was addressing all of them, Lazarus felt like Kan was speaking directly to him.

"Welcome, and prepare yourselves," To Lazarus, it seemed like Kan's size grew with every passing word, until he had been swallowed up entirely by his teacher's shadow.

"Hero Training begins, today!"


	12. Subways and Subjection

**Hey all, BenchBeYolking, still checking in.**

 **I'm running outta things to say, I'm being honest! Thanks for reading!**

 **Always look forward to reading your guy's thoughts, but I've said that for the last 11 chapters, so maybe you've got that at this point.**

 **Also yeah, I know the chapter is a little shorter, and this story has been moving at a snails pace, but I'm bad at staying on topic, and I've found I can actually get more done in a chapter if I try and get a certain amount done in one chapter then just try and make it as long as possible, so while this chapter is still pretty slow, I'm hoping to pick up the pace a little bit (unless you guys have been digging the speed we're moving at, in which case, I'll stay the course!)**

 **Another advantage of shorter chapters: I can actually move to a weekly update schedule instead of a Bi-weekly/Whoops-Accidental-Hiatus release.**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

 **As always and always and always, I'll let the chapter, speak for itself...**

* * *

Lazarus stood before Kan's looming shape, without thinking, Lazarus clenched his hands into fists. Lazarus closed his eyes, cloaking his world in confronting darkness for a moment. He took a deep breath in, filling his lungs with air before pushing it all out. When he opened his eyes again, no longer was he alone before Kan. Lazarus stepped forward, feeling the entire class shift, all moving towards their teacher, towards their dreams.

Kan continued to look around, his demeanor shifting to that of the man Lazarus saw him as on the first day. Imposing, threatening, and utterly deadly. As Kan came to life and began to move, Lazarus saw the strangely out of place table in the middle of the street behind him. Lazarus finally took in his surroundings, the tunnel had ended at one of the urban test centers and opened into a main street where they had gathered.

"Okay, now let's talk about today's exercise. In today's hero society, what is the most important skill for a newbie hero to have?" At Kan's question, a hushed murmur spread through the crowd, as the class considered the incredibly vague statement.

"Honour!" Tetsutetsu spoke, false confidence heavy in his voice.

"Kindness." The girl from yesterday's training whose hair appeared to be made up of a series of vines replied, her voice quiet, but strong.

"Adaptability...obviously." Neito sighed as he gave his answer, putting a hand in his hair as he oozed real confidence.

"Ability to speak Japanese?" Pony-Chan piped in, the normally snide comment sounding perfectly innocent and honest from her mouth.

"Wrong, all wrong...not a single one of you know it, eh?" As Kan looked around, those who hadn't answered yet, Lazarus included, quickly descended into silence and tried to avoid Kan's glare.

Lazarus put a hand on his chin and did something he rarely did, think hard. Even though his tired state, he tried to look at his own experience, what had kept him alive? His quirk was the obvious answer, but he doubted that was a valid response. Fighting prowess was useful, but not all heroes needed to fight. He thought back to every encounter on the streets with his siblings and tried to draw a common line between them.

"Come on!" Kan growled, placing a hand on his temples, "I can't even give you participation marks if you don't say anything! Fine, the answer is…" As Kan reached the end of the sentence, he trailed off, as if giving the class one more chance to guess.

It hit Lazarus like a ton of bricks, the answer was so obvious. Every fight with his siblings, every victory he achieved, there was a simple connection that drew it all together.

"A good sleep schedule!" Lazarus cried out, slapping a hand against his head as it came to him.

Kan stared right through Lazarus, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Lazarus stood, frozen in his position, waiting for Kan's response.

"No. That's...no." Kan sighed dejectedly as Lazarus unfroze, suddenly feeling incredibly confused.

"Really?" Lazarus questioned.

"Yes, Poe-kun. That's not the answer." As Kan continued to regard him with that same vague disappointment Lazarus always felt from Kan, all he could do was try and figure out where his mental train of thought had jumped the track.

"Okay, well it was either that or teamwork…" Lazarus half-mumbled to himself, half thought out loud. Kan had already begun to turn away, clearly accepting no one was going to get it.

"No, that's also not- Wait, no! Yes! Teamwork! That's exactly right!" Kan suddenly stood at his full height, stomping on the ground with such force that it seemed to shake the ground underneath Lazarus.

"Really? Because in my experience most newbies become overly concerned with overperforming in their fledgling career, and though doing such neglect having a health work-life balance especially-" As Lazarus began to rattle off his reasoning, Kan put a gentle hand up to stop him.

"Poe-kun, this is the first mildly not disappointing thing you've managed to accomplish. Please, for both of our sakes, just take the correct answer and let's move on." As Kan finished, a moment of understanding passed over Lazarus, and he understood.

"Haha! I got it right, give me five Tet!" Lazarus turned to Tetsutetsu and offered a high-five, which Tetsutetsu begrudgingly accepted after a moment.

"In today's society, Heroes are being driven to become more independent, as the market becomes more saturated with new unproven faces, Heroes are encouraged to stand out on their own." Kan continued, ignoring Lazarus's antics as he moved to the other side of the desk, picking up two boxes, one black and one white.

"Yet! Young heroes must not forget why they are there, they have to learn to work together, often time under incredible pressure and with no warning, in order to save the day. Especially because many of you will start, or make your living, as a sidekick, this teamwork is crucial to being a hero!" Kan shook the two buckets, before reaching a massive hand into each.

"That need to prepare for the unknown and work with others unexpectedly is what we'll be focusing on in this first year class. Eventually, you'll be working in larger teams in grander scenarios, but today we'll just be doing some classic two on two battles!" As Kan finished, he pulled two balls from each box, each one having a name on them.

"Poe-kun and Tsuburaba-kun! Villain team!" Kan cried, seemingly in an instant, Kosei was by his side. Lazarus however, felt a less then pleased churning in his gut.

"Villains? Why aren't we just like, hero-team-B or something…" Lazarus crossed his arms and huffed, being pegged a Villain was not an experience he wanted to relive. Kan laughed.

"Calm yourself, you'll all have a chance to be both the heroes and the villains. Consider it a boon, you'll have fewer rules you'll have to abide by to get a higher score." Kan reassured both Lazarus and the class, Lazarus sighed, but nodded, accepting the answer without further issue.

"You two will be facing...Tsunotori-san and Shishida-kun! Hero team!" As Kan finished Lazarus had one question on his mind.

"...Kosei, who the hell are Tsunororit and Shinshsiha?" Lazarus whispered, Kosei looked back with the most deadpan expression he had ever seen him wear.

"Wow you were not kidding when you said you were bad with names." As if to accent his point, he pointed to where two students had stepped forward.

"Oh! It's Pony-Chan-san and...some furry dude with glasses." Lazarus spoke, more to himself as he watched Pony-Chan step forward alongside a student he didn't know yet, a tall boy with an excessive amount of hair on his arms, legs and face. The two of them looked back at Lazarus, and the rests of the group seemed to fade away from his perception, leaving only him and Kosei against them.

"His name is Jurota Shishida, and Lazarus...you are aware that her name is Pony, right? Pony-chan already has the suffix -chan attached." As Kosei whispered in his ear, Lazarus suddenly found he had no words to respond as he looked at... Pony and Jurota.

"Thank you, Kosei. I assure you my fighting abilities surpass my context understanding skills." With that, Kosei nodded and backed away from Lazarus's peripheral vision, leaving only Pony, Jurota, and Kan in his sights.

Kan seemed satisfied with the two groups, before opening a heavy binder and flipping to a bookmarked page, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Today's exercise is a-" Suddenly, a burst of air hit Lazarus from behind, he stumbled, almost being knocked off his feet completely from the force. He saw Pony stumble as well, Kosei fall flat on his face, and Jurota stand stoically through it.

Turning, Lazarus saw the source of the blast, clad in red and blue, All Might stood behind them all, his classic smile plastered on his face.

"I am here!" All Might declared, stunning the class, most too surprised and awestruck to say anything else. Kan however, was unimpressed.

"Class A is in training block D today. First left on your way back, follow that tunnel to the end. Though if you didn't tell them to meet you there, they're probably still waiting in their homeroom class." Without missing a beat, Kan directed All Might to where Lazarus assumed he was suppose to be.

All Might stood stoically for a moment, yet Lazarus saw a bead of sweat move down his forehead and pass his impossibly wide smile. All Might nodded, raising a single thumb up to acknowledge the directions. Before turning around and crouching into a sprinter's position.

"Then! I...am off to teach my class!" Before Lazarus could blink, All Might was gone, and another massive blast of wind followed behind him. After half a second, Kan continued.

"...as I was saying, today's exercise is-" Before Kan could finished, Setsuna popped up from somewhere in the back of the group to speak.

"Wait, we're just going to ignore that? Just ignore that All Might rolled up to our class? That the number one hero-" As Setsuna continued talking, Kan looked up, a peeved expression on his face.

"Please don't interrupt me, and yes, we are ignoring that interruption." Kan paused, waiting to see if anyone else wanted to stop him, after a satisfying moment of silence, he cleared his throat again.

"We're doing a bomb recovery scenario!" As Kan spoke, he pulled out what looked like a remote control and hit a button. As soon as he did, a trailer truck driven by a robot pulled around the corner and back up behind him, the giant metal shutters hiding what was inside. Lazarus could feel the energy rising in the class as Kan walked up to the truck and threw open the shutters to reveal…

A totally empty trailer, with a bright yellow sticky note taped to the wall.

Kan said nothing, simply taking the sticky note from the wall and reading it out loud.

"My old friend Vlad King, I borrowed the fake bomb you had taken out of storage to use in my Heroics Class, I'll return it ASAP, Thanks a bunch. Your friend, All Might...and a smiley face." As Kan finished, Lazarus saw Kan close his eyes tiredly, taking a deep breath before releasing it.

"Excuse me a moment class." Kan spoke, his voice empty as he stepped up into the back of the trailer, closing the metal shutters behind him.

"What do you think he's…" Kosei turned to Lazarus to ask, but before Lazarus could respond. Kan's muffled voice became audible through the thin metal sheet of the trailer door.

"I think, our teacher believes this trailer is sound proof." Neito spoke from the crowd of students, leaving everyone awkwardly eavesdrop on their teacher.

"Good afternoon, Kayama-san, I just remembered you said you were free this block today because of a schedule mix up? I need a favor." As Kan's hushed voice leaked out of the trailer, Lazarus, along with the rest of the students, remained deadly quiet as their teacher appeared to make a phone call.

"I...I understand this is very short notice but All Might, yeah, yeah I know he actually wrote a competent scenario, the problem was, he used my prop, and I have an entire class of students waiting...well since I can't do a bomb mission I was going to do the one I use to do before switching to the bomb mission, I know the principal told me to stop using that part of the city because of the danger, but I don't really have a choice! I'm not going to just let my class miss such an important class... and if you remember I need-" Kan paused, seemingly waiting for a response.

"Okay-okay, uh, thank you, for agreeing, but uh, you're doing me a favor, so maybe don't be so excited about this…thank you again..." After another awkward moment of silence, Kan threw open the shutters, stepping out of the trailer as if nothing had happened.

"There has been a slight change of plans, we're doing a Hostage Rescue Mission!" Kan cried, trying to raise some excitement again, Lazarus couldn't help but raise his hand.

"Am I still on the Villain team?" Kan turned to face him.

"Yes." Kan response, Lazarus frowned.

"Follow up question then; Is killing the hostage a legal move for the villain team to make if it looks like we're going to lose?" As Lazarus finished, he heard Kosei take a step away from him as Kan regarded him with tired eyes.

"I'm just going to pretend that you're joking about that." Kan replied, Lazarus nodded.

"And by that response, I'm going to go with a solid 'no' for scorched-earthing the mission objective, got it. Just getting into character, Sensei." Lazarus pointed at Kan with both of his index fingers, nodding to show he understood, Kan simply ignored him.

"The objective is simple. Underneath our feet is an 'abandoned' subway station." Kan stressed the words abandon, making it clear that it was still part of the training ground. Though what Lazarus could hear of his conversation, it seemed like perhaps it really was 'abandoned' for real.

"The Villain team will have to guard the helpless hostage from being taken by the hero team for...ten minutes, let's say, if the hero team manages to retrieve the hostage and make it out of the subway, they win." Kan began listing off the rules, flipping through his binder in a clear attempt to figure out where he had written the rules for this old exercise.

"Otherwise, if the villains manage to hold off the heroes assault, then they win. Villains, you have five minutes to prepare...as soon as our hostage arrives…" Kan began to slow down, and Lazarus realized he was buying time for whomever he was talking with to get here.

"You'll have to take good care of me boys and girls...I'll be the one tied up for once." Lazarus felt his heart freeze as the familiar seductive voice spoke from behind him, the girls of the class turned and gasped, several of the boys turned and had a little stronger of a reaction. Lazarus could only feel fear.

"Students, meet our volunteer hostage, Midnight, the 18+ Hero." As Kan introduced her, Lazarus bit his tongue to ask again why the hell an 18+ hero was a teacher at a high school.

"That's right students, I'll be tied up with rope, helpless and defenceless to the villains who have captured me, enslaved my poor helpless body to-" As Midnight began to go off on a tangent, (and Lazarus felt the temperature of the crowd increase several degrees) Kan quickly shut her down.

"Hahaha! Okay, Midnight, I think they get the idea! You're the hostage." Kan quickly stepped in front of Midnight, who was just a few feet behind Lazarus, meaning Lazarus could perfectly hear their next whispered exchange.

"Midnight!" Kan hissed between a clenched smile, "Please for the love of everything allowed by the school code of conduct, don't make me have to gag you." Midnight turned and smiled innocently at Kan.

"Why Kan-san, I never knew you were into that kind of thing~" Kan's frown somehow became even more deeply set in his face as Midnight quickly walked away from him, the clicking of her heels being the only sound beside the excited murmurs of the (mostly male) students around her.

"Villain team! Front and center!" Kan yelled, clearly taking out his frustration through yelling, which Lazarus was happy he was doing instead of taking it out on him.

"Here! This is an earpiece that will let you communicate with each other, and let me talk to you if I need to intervene. Some chalk, a flashlight…and capture tape. Wrap this around your opponent to signify you've captured them to remove them from the fight." Kan handed each of them the items as he spoke, as well as a rolled up scroll of paper.

"Finally, this is a map of the subway system, with a marker for where the hostage is. The Heroes will get the same map, but without the hostage marker. You can't move the hostage, but you can return them to the room if the Heroes remove her." As Kan explained the last of the items he handed them, he took another deep breath.

"Feel free to use this time to strategize, or get yourself familiar with the area, I'll let you know two minutes before the heroes will start. Good luck you two, Plus Ultra!" As Kan finished, Lazarus looked to Kosei to smile, who quickly matched his expression. The two of them nodded to each other then bowed to Kan out of respect.

"Thank you Sensei!" The two of them spoke in unison, Lazarus quickly turned and began to bolt towards the entrance, Kosei trailing slightly behind him. As Lazarus moved, he felt his chest swell, his tiredness staved off by the promise of combat, even if it was just practice combat.

And suddenly, Lazarus was in the subway.

The darkness was oppressive, the rare, flickering, wall light barely illuminated directly around it, leaving plenty of dark corners to hide. As Lazarus slowed down to look, Kosei caught up to him, huffing slightly at trying to keep pace with Lazarus.

Lazarus smiled as Kosei recovered, the two of them were at the first fork in the road, both paths eventually converged on the 'Hostage' chamber, but there were quite a few winding intersecting passages, some longer than others, along the way. The light above them flickered only occasionally, actually giving the two of them some visibility.

"So, Cube-kun, what's the plan?" Kosei spoke, leaning in as he pulled out the map and pointed to where they were. Lazarus looked back at him.

"See, here's the thing, Kosei, buddy, I'm uh, I'm not really a 'planning' kinda guy. I'm not the brains, I'm the brawns, you know? So basically, what do you got!" Lazarus put a hand on his friend's shoulder, smiling.

Kosei stared blankly back at him, "Well, I'm glad that we're on the same wavelength Cube-kun, because I've got nothing."

"Huh." Lazarus replied.

"Huh." Kosei response.

"Huh…" Lazarus sighed.

"Huh." Kosei yet again asserted.

"So, protect the hostage?" Lazarus threw out the obvious statement, hoping to at least get the ball rolling. Kosei nodded.

"Works for me!" The brown haired boy spoke quickly looking back down at the map to try and figure out the quickest way to the hostage, Lazarus suddenly got an idea.

"Okay...so, here's an idea, why don't you set up a bunch of barriers, just at random areas, they'll get confused about which way the hostage is and we can run down the clock!" Lazarus snapped his fingers as Kosei quickly shook his head to disagree.

"Sorry, Lazarus. I can't make more than one barrier at a time, good idea though! Any more?" Kosei shut him down hard, and Lazarus winced, he had really put all his mental eggs in one basket.

"Well...then…" Lazarus thought out loud, walking to the wall and running his hand along the wall trying to think of 'something' helpful. Kosei looked around with him, before suddenly blinking rapidly.

"What's your costume do?" As Kosei asked Lazarus turned pulling down his scarf to reveal his metal collar. Tapping the side of it he couldn't help but smile.

"The rest of it's really a style kinda thing, switched from red to purple, the jacket's lightweight kevlar, and yeah, the pants are tough, but the collar is what's really important.

"What does it do?" Kosei leaned in, trying to inspect the metal device in the dark, Lazarus chuckled.

"Injects a bunch of deadly neurotoxins directly into my bloodstream, should kill me in about five seconds, if they can deliver on what they promised." Lazarus casually flipped open the front of the collar, revealing a red handle with a warning sign on it. Kosei backed away.

"Oh, wow, that's...fast." Kosei tried to form a coherent sentence, Lazarus noticed him failing.

"Yep. Just pull this handle and, you know, bleh" Lazarus closed the collar and adjusted his scarf.

"Pretty simple, all things considered, but I'm hoping I don't have to use it today. How's your costume help?" Lazarus turned the question back on his brown haired friend, who quickly pointed to himself as if to confirm before responding.

"Oh uh, nothing special, it's pretty minimalistic as you can tell...no kevlar…" Kosei suddenly seemed incredibly self-conscious about his costume. Lazarus looked him over, it was pretty simple, mostly functional hero apparel, A brown and light grey jumpsuit with what looked like several small air tanks on his waist, with tubes leading up to his head, where some kind of small device hung loosely around his neck.

"This little thing," Kosei remarked on the device almost as soon as Lazarus looked at it, holding it up to his mouth to demonstrate, "Is hooked up to a bunch of condensed pressurized oxygen tanks, it'll force a bunch of air into my lungs, you know, without kill me, so I can make a real big barrier if I have to." As Kosei finished, Lazarus nodded enthusiastically.

"See, now that's thinking outside the box, you sure you aren't an idea guy, eh?" Kosei laughed, but Lazarus saw his body language puff out proudly a little bit.

"When it comes to my own quirk, I guess I know a little bit…" The two of them smiled, then Lazarus remembered their time limit.

"Okay, so, I have an idea. I'll trade you for the chalk!" Lazarus reached into a specially shaped pouch on his jacket as Kosei held out the chalk for Lazarus to take.

"Wait, trade me what?" As soon Kosei spoke, Lazarus grabbed the chalk and placed his cube in Kosei's hand.

"Okay...okay. So I'm trusting you here…trust." Lazarus spoke, he tried to control the shaking of his hand as he moved it away from the cube now in Kosei's hand. Kosei looked incredibly concerned.

"Uh, are you okay? Does it hurt when you're away from it?" Kosei tried to offer the cube back to him, but Lazarus pushed his hand away.

"No pain! Yet! Just, trust issues. Not that I don't trust you! But uh, just, be careful with it, okay? My life is literally in your hands right now." Lazarus stepped away slightly, fighting the urge to grab the cube again as he wrung his hands.

"Okay...uh, why are you giving me this?" Kosei asked quietly, Lazarus took another step away, his separation anxiety dulling slightly, he knew it would only get worse as soon as he got out of sight of his cube.

"Simple, I'm going to go mark some shapes on key areas of the subway walls with this chalk, so we can maneuver our way around without having to keep looking at the map. The other team won't know what they mean, but we will. It'll give us a leg up if we have to chase them, we'll know where we are, hopefully." Lazarus explained his plan as he stepped away again, feeling his breathing steady.

"But why you? Why can't I go with you?" Kosei shifted his weight as he crossed his arms, clearly unsure of Lazarus's idea.

"You need to take my cube to the 'hostage' that way, worst case scenario, I can just use my costume to uh, 'return' to you quickly if need be. Please, stay by the hostage, okay?" Lazarus knew it was a waste of his one life, but he didn't expect either of his foes to fight him to the death, especially with capture tape being a non-lethal way to remove people from combat.

"Are you sure?" Kosei seemed unsure, Lazarus couldn't help but blink, the question ripping any confidence he had in his idea away.

"No...but I think it's a better plan then waiting here until we both get caught off guard with zero prep." Lazarus shrugged with a light chuckle, knowingly betraying how utterly off the cusp his idea was. Kosei laughed.

"Well, at least we have honesty going for us. I'll trust you Lazarus." Kosei grinned and scratched his nose with his thumb, giving Lazarus a quick thumbs up afterwards.

"I won't let you down." Lazarus replied, nodding, suddenly feeling more weight behind his task.

"You better not. I'm not the best at hitting the books, so I'm kinda banking on these practical test grades." Kosei smiled, but Lazarus saw the flicker of an actual plea behind them.

"Then stay in contact, I'll mark down where I put the chalk when I get back to the hostage." Lazarus turned and began to walk down the subway passage, into the darkness. Kosei suddenly spoke up.

"Wait! Don't you need the map? You know, to mark down where you put the chalk?" Kosei's voice gave Lazarus a moment of pause.

* * *

" _...Two lefts then up the staircase, first room on your right Grav, that's where they'd keep the stolen goods…"_

" _...It's floor twelve, there's a vent shaft that leads right to the bathroom, from there, you can walk through the kitchen to get to the hidden back room. We'll find them there..."_

" _...Of course I know the way, you guys give me two jobs, GPS duty and human meat shield work, I'm the directions guy!"_

* * *

Lazarus grinned, turning over his shoulder to look at Kosei's confused expression.

"Trust me, I think I've already got a good grip on the layout of this place." Lazarus laughed, more to himself then anyone as he moved into the darkness of the tunnel.

As Lazarus continued, he heard his laughter echo around him in the darkness, carrying both forward and backwards, the sound made him laugh harder, the distortion of his voice sudden seeming incredibly funny as he tried to take his mind off the growing distance between him and his heart, laughing louder to distract himself from the coldness spreading through his chest.

"Poe-kun." Kan's voice sparked to life in Lazarus's ear, sounding far crisper and closer than he expected.

"Yes-Sir-Sensei?" Lazarus put a hand to his ear, replying as his laughter died instantly.

"I understand you are part of the villain team, and intimidation is a valid tactic; But, the hero team, your teammate, and most of the classes is a little freaked out by hearing your and I quote a classmate of yours here, 'unhinged laughter emerge from the darkness of the subway like a demon rising from the pits of hell.' Would you mind dialing it back a bit?" Kan's statement froze Lazarus in his tracks, an awkward apologetic smile suddenly stuck to his face.

"Yes-Sensei. I'll uh, keep the 'unhinged' laughter to a minimum, properly hinged laughter only." Lazarus waited for a reply that never came, then quietly slipped further into the darkness, thankful that at least for a bit, he'd be alone and unobserved.

Lazarus noted that the darkness was rather intense, and with every step, he could feel not only himself get farther away from his cube, but also Kosei moving further away, doubling the distance with every step. Eventually, he reached the furthest end of the tunnels and began to work his way backwards, stopping to make abstract chalk marks as he went.

"Kosei? You there man?" Lazarus hit the comm in his ear, realising that he hadn't checked if it even worked, though considering that Kan noted that Kosei had heard his laughter, he assumed it was at least connected to the network.

"Yeah, what's up Cube-kun?" Kosei's voice seemed to be right beside his ear, but Lazarus swore he could hear his own heart beating from the other side of the intercomm, how far away from his cube had he gone?

"Where are you? In the Subway, I mean, you've made it to the hostage?" Lazarus marked a giant triangle on the wall beside him where a side passage split off, remembering that this was the longest way to the hostage from looking at the map.

"I'm was just with the, uh, 'hostage' a second ago." Kosei paused, and Lazarus sighed, knowing fully well what was about to come next.

"Dude! It's Midnight!" Kosei managed to both half-whisper, and somehow half-yell into Lazarus's earpiece at the same time. Lazarus barely managed not to scream into the void.

"Focus! Kosei, where exactly are you." Lazarus suddenly felt out of breath, he looked down at his hands and saw that he was deathly pale, a churning in his gut warned him of impending disaster. A distorted blob of flesh and hair darted by the edge of Lazarus's vision, and instantly, the tired boy knew he had made an error.

"Yeah, I decided to check out the other side of the subway, I'll promise I'll be back before the heroes start, so don't worry about me being with the hostage, but I'm almost at the other far end of the subway now." Kosei innocently confessed, and Lazarus could suddenly feel the darkness around him grow heavier as his legs suddenly gave out under him. Sending him down to his knees. A fear struck him.

He hadn't told Kosei why exactly he needed to stay by the hostage, or more specifically, near the center of the subway.

"Something up Cube-kun? Hello?" Kosei's voice floated into his ear, but the growing sound of static was all that filled his head. Lazarus looked down to see his flesh begin to crumble.

"..." Lazarus tried to speak, but all he could do was choke on dust, his voice lost, no matter how hard he heaved. Fear began to burrow into his gut, he had only been separated from his cube twice before, and both times, he had no memory of what had happened, all he could remember was regenerating next to his cube, with the strange feeling of waking from a horrible nightmare.

Then the hand appeared.

Lazarus wanted to close his eyes, but to his growing terror, they wouldn't obey him, he couldn't move, he couldn't speak, only flick his eyes to the side to see the shadowy, skeleton hand reaching out from somewhere behind his head, as it moved closer to his head, it grazed his cheek, almost in a mocking, loving gesture. At it's touch, his nerves fried, crumbled to dust along with his skin and muscles, and all the while his brain sent a desperate plea through Lazarus's body, he imagined this is what it felt like for a toy to run out of batteries.

Tears stained Lazarus's face as with every touch of the hand, his body was wracked with pain, not the dull sensation which he had learned to call 'hurt' whenever his body took damage, but unimaginable, horrific agony that hit him in the core of his being. In that moment, Lazarus finally knew why people feared death.

The hand finally grabbed at Lazarus's arm, crumbling the flesh around it until bone gripped bone, and then another hand appeared, and another, and another, and another. Lazarus felt the world around him flicker, as if he was trapped between reality and dream. The hands began to tug, pulling him backwards into a void he couldn't sea, while his body refused to move, it still felt like some part of him was being pulled out, as if he was being evicted from his own decaying body.

Lazarus heard nothing but static and felt nothing but pain, but he could still see, no matter how much he wished he couldn't. He watched the shadows shift into a familiar shape, Newtonia, walking towards him.

She was wrong. Her eyes were sunken and dim, her innocent smile was warped and mangled, and her body seized with every step, as if she was something not of this world, with every moment, Lazarus saw Newtonia's facade drip away, until he was looking into a mirror.

"Return to me, Lazarus…" The abomination with his face whispered, it's voice echoing around his head from a hundred different sources. it's arm reached out, and morphed until it was the exact size and shape of his face, resembling the inside of his Vigilante mask, and with every instant, the light seemed to flicker, and it's hand moved closer to his face.

"Please…" Lazarus whispered, his lips crumbling as he spoke, the abomination gave no heed to his plea. Another shadowed hand reaching out to wrap around his throat, choking what little air was left in his lungs.

"This vessel is too weak now...return to me for a new one…you'll forget all about this...soon...return to me..." As the abomination's hand inched ever closer, Lazarus felt his breath stop, and the world began to blur around him, the darkness of the tunnel becoming replaced with the nothingness he knew so well.

The abomination froze, its face contorting, before it frowned, and instantly flickered out of existence. Before Lazarus could do anything, he felt the hands release their grips, like marionette strings snapping, they released their death hold on him and were thrown backwards into the darkness, and in a moment, Lazarus was totally, and completely alone.

"Hello? Lazarus please, please, please respond! Sensei just released the heroes! Where are you man? I'm back at the hostage! Do you copy?" Kosei's voice sounded too clean and too crisp, like a drink of ice-cold water after a heat stroke. Lazarus looked down at his hands to find them shaking and gaunt, but otherwise intact, he felt along his face, arms, and throat, but though he felt clammy and cold, he was whole.

"What...the...everloving…" Lazarus whispered, tears falling down his face as he wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve, stumbling to his feet, shock alone driving his every action. As he looked forward, his voice caught in his throat, in the darkness ahead of him, the abomination stood, flickering in and out of reality, beckoning him with a single too-long finger to a place too far away from his cube, inviting him to death.

A single thought overloaded all the others in his head, a single, unavoidable thought.

"My cube." Lazarus whispered, stepping away as the Abomination's flickering grew more rapidly with every step closer to Kosei he took.

"What?" Kosei spoke, clearly worried about both where Lazarus was and what was happening.

"Cube. Cube. Cube. Cube." Lazarus babbled, the thought consuming his every moment, his chest felt so hollow, so cold, so empty.

"I have your cube, you gave it to me, so just be quiet and get back…" Kosei tried to speak calmly, but Lazarus felt everything but calm.

"Cube." Lazarus spoke again, and he felt his body break into a sprint, he tripped almost instantly, his legs shakier and weaker then he remembered them being, his face hit the cold concrete beneath him, but instantly, he was back on his feet and running faster than before. Towards his cube, only towards his cube, every step feeling like his last, pounding the ground as hard as he could, as if he could crack the earth to reach his goal faster.

"Lazarus! Dude, what are you doing, I can hear your feet pounding on the ground from here! Slow down! You'll tip off the heroes."

Lazarus wanted to respond, he wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, his mind firing off in a way it never had before, gaps in his memory he never questioned before slowly filling, the abomination's presence suddenly seeming oh so familiar to him, but in that moment, all he could think was a single thing.

"Cube, Return to the source, save the vessel." Lazarus spoke, the words coming from his mouth, but not being thought by him.

"The hell are you talking about?" Kosei yelled from the other side, before he took another step, and a beam of light hit him from the side, causing Lazarus to instinctively freeze, running on pure instinct as he currently was, he could only imagine the beam as a police spotlight, his body preparing for a fight of self-defence.

Out of the corner of his eye, even through the blinding light, Lazarus saw two silhouettes in the darkness behind the beam, even in his shell-shocked state, Lazarus could tell exactly who they were.

"Found you!" Pony gleefully cheered in English, pointing a finger at him. All Lazarus could do was blink.


	13. Devastation and Determination

**Today, I stopped on my way home from school and sat by the water, watching the ducks eat.**

 **It was nice. It put a lot of things into perspective. Not to get overly dramatic, but people get so caught up in doing things just because they need to get done, that they forget why they're doing things, to improve, to get better, to learn.**

 **That's how I feel when I write, I like the feeling of improvement, of progression, both in my style and ability and in the narrative and progression. Hopefully you guys do as well!**

 **As always, I read every review and I'm always open for criticism! I try my best to respond to questions and clear up misunderstandings!**

 **Cheers and, as always, I'll let the chapter speak for itself...**

* * *

"Lazarus? Lazarus! Talk to me man!" Kosei begged into his ear, and in that moment, Lazarus forgot his trauma, momentarily, as he realized in his frantic scramble he had almost left his teammate out to dry.

As the situation fully dawned on him, Lazarus admitted fully to himself that, he had, in fact, fully left his teammate out to dry.

Lazarus dared not move, the hero team seemingly frozen in place as much as he was, only unlike him, they were most likely stunned by how easy the trial just became.

"...S-sup." Lazarus responded, the dry humor sounding pitiful from his lips as he ran a hand through his hair. Pony and Jurota exchanged a look of weariness, clearly debating if this was a trap or not, Lazarus took that opportunity of their eyes darting away from him to haul ass as far away as he could get.

Lazarus pounded the concrete beneath his feet with renewed vigor as he made it about four steps left of the hero team before he heard them begin to give chance behind him, the clopping sound of Pony's hooves never sounding more terrifying to him then in that moment.

"Lazarus!" Kosei repeated, obviously trying to get his attention, Lazarus responded.

"Hey pal! I'm back!" Lazarus began seeing the diamond shape chalk marker up ahead, prompting him to take a left to get back to the hostage. As he heard the Hero team gaining on him, Lazarus began trying hard not to remember that both of the heroes had put up a faster time for the dash then him.

"Oh thank god, Lazarus, what's going on? What happened? And why the hell are you running?" Kosei's voice started calm, and ended with a shrill note to it, clearly freaked out that everything was already falling to pieces.

"I…" Lazarus began, also trying not to recall the flickering image of the abomination that had just seemingly tried to consume his soul. He started from the beginning again.

"I hit a snag, my quirk means I can't get too far away from my cube or...it's uh, well...bad things happen, okay? You leaving the hostage left me, uh... comatose for a while." Lazarus spoke the half-truth through his teeth as he took a sharp right, as he did, he heard Pony's hooves slip on the ground to try, and then fail, to take the turn as tightly as he did, buying him a few more seconds.

"I'm back now, and being pursued by the Heroes, I'm trying to give them the slip, but it's not working too well. I think I might have to turn and fight. Scratch that, I am turning and fighting." As Lazarus spoke, he unwrapped the scarf from his head, throwing out out behind him in a vain attempt to put some obstacle between him and the now thunderous sound of a gaining pair of hooves behind him.

"I don't think that's a good idea alone, they're both got physical quirks on top of it being a two on one, just try and stay out of direct combat until I can get-" Kosei begin, at that moment, Lazarus finally succumbed to the urge to look over his shoulder, seeing Pony's sharp horns trailing in the darkness just a foot behind him.

"Too late! I'm improvising!" Lazarus cried as he stopped, reflecting for a quarter of a second how stupid what he was about to do was, and then threw his body up and backwards, attempting to backflip over Pony's charge.

For a moment Lazarus was in midair, and in what he could only describe as slow motion, Pony seemed to turn her head and glance upwards at him, she didn't even seem upset, just mildly impressed. Lazarus felt time seem to return to normal as his momentum carried him fully through his flip, landing him back on his feet as Pony continued to run off down the tunnel, trying to suddenly stop her reckless charge.

Lazarus stood, stunned at his own act of acrobatics, before grinning like an idiot.

"Did anyone else see that?" Lazarus cried, to which Jurota responded by charging out of the darkness and punching him squarely in the face.

Lazarus felt the impact morph his entire jaw backwards, before his feet left the ground, sending him flying backwards into yet another flip. This flip was, however, less intentional and far less graceful. Lazarus still managed to land on his feet, unsteadily, as he felt a little bit of blood seep into his mouth, he quickly swallowed it, locking eyes with his assailant.

Lazarus finally acknowledged how massive Jurota was, the half-beast half-student's hair covered chest and arms were on full display, as his equally impressive muscles bulged outwards. He reached up and pushed his comically small glasses further up his face. Matching Lazarus's gaze with his own form of grim determination.

"I saw that. Quite impressive. Second one? Not so much." Jurota's voice was crisp and to the point, surprisingly Lazarus slightly.

"Heh, alright then…" Lazarus stood at his full high, cracking his neck. However, a sudden fatigue overtook him, and for a moment, the abomination flickered into existence behind Jurota, staring back at him with it's blank eyes.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" Kosei yet again snapped Lazarus out of his momentary daze, the Abomination vanishing as Lazarus blinked. Lazarus put a hand to his ear.

"One sec, I just gotta take down this big guy, then I'll swing by…for the cube...this will just take a second...wait I said that already..." Lazarus forced bravado into his suddenly tired voice, the hole in his chest beginning to bother him. Separation anxiety began to kick in, he needed to get back to his cube as soon as possible, these hallucinations were obviously linked to being away from it for so long.

"Lazarus!" Kosei groaned from the other side equally filled with worry and frustration, "You can't just fight them alone-"

"I can, and I am! Time to improvise!" Lazarus cried back defiantly, a surge of adrenaline blocking out his doubts as he dropping low and began rushing towards Jurota. Lazarus was vaguely aware of the fact that the other student made no move to dodge his attack, standing perfectly still as Lazarus rapidly approached. That was, however, totally fine by his books.

"Underestimating me, eh? Then take this!" Lazarus yelled as he ducked to the side, swinging a haymaker at Jurota exposed gut, planning on following through and sending his foe toppling to the ground. Most likely following up with another flurry of blows.

What actually happened, however, was Lazarus fist hitting Jurota with a solid slapping sound. Jurota grunted, and Lazarus's momentum was stopped dead as his body jerked back, repealed by the solid surface of Jurota's stomach. His fist began to throb from the hard impact.

Lazarus looked up at Jurota blankly, who matched his look with one of his own. Lazarus opened his fist and felt around the rock solid abs of the other student. Humming to himself as he felt the iron six pack of the other student.

"Wow." Lazarus spoke, nodding his head enthusiastically. Jurota made the same gesture, rolled his shoulders slightly, then uppercutted Lazarus in the chin.

Lazarus flew into the air, his entire body slamming against the curved ceiling of the tunnel, cracking the concrete above him as his body seemed to defy gravity for a brief moment, hanging painfully in mid air, before quickly descending back to the ground, slamming into the floor. The raven haired student grunting as chunks of debris pelted him from above.

Without wasting a moment, Lazarus placed his hand on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he pushed himself up.

A sound Lazarus could only describe as cracking porcelain drifted to his ears. Looking down at his arm, Lazarus gulped back uncertainty.

Along his hands and arm were cracks. Massive, skin-breaking breeches had formed up his entire forearm, but there wasn't blood underneath his broken skin, only an inky darkness, a darkness eerily familiar to Lazarus.

Suddenly, the world shifted around him, and Lazarus for a fraction of a fraction of a second, was back to death, laying alone in the emptiness between. And then he was back.

Lazarus looked around, bewildered and suddenly disoriented, the world seemed so crisp all of a sudden, he noticed the massive cracks on his arm seemed to fragment more, quickly, he placed his other hand around his forearm, squeezing the fragmenting bits of his skin back together, where they miraculously clicked back into place. The cracks were still visible, but his skin was still staying together. Finally, he met Jurota's eyes, only to find confusion looking back.

"Did you just vanish-" Jurota muttered under his breath, squinting, most likely unsure if he had been seeing things in the dark among the debris. Lazarus wasn't sure what had just happened himself. However, Lazarus knew an opportunity to strike back when he saw one.

This time, he knew where to aim his blow, without hesitation, Lazarus leaped back to his feet and bounced into the air, using his long legs to truly soar through the air towards Jurota, before swinging right for the jaw.

Lazarus took a moment of satisfaction from Jurota's shocked eyes from behind his glasses, before Lazarus's blow hit its mark. Jurota stumbled back, disoriented from the blow, before Lazarus advanced.

"You don't get off that easily!" Lazarus landed on the ground, crouching before springing forward, nailing Jurota again and again with a unending barrage of punches to the face, throwing off Jurota's staggered attempts to guard his face with ease.

"Grah!" Jurota roared at him, and Lazarus saw a change in the other student's movement, for a brief moment, Jurota tried to roll his shoulders.

In the next instant Lazarus threw his leg out to the side, dipping his whole body back, as Jurota sent a devastating uppercut right where Lazarus's chin was a moment before. Lazarus answered the attack with an equally brutal left hook, keeping the beast-student off his balance as Lazarus continued to attack instantly.

"I'm not as big as you...and I'm sure as hell not as strong…I'd never beat anyone with just my abilities against theirs..." Lazarus grunted as Jurota's defence became more and more erratic.

"But guess what? I have one leg up on you all...I live...and live...and learn!" Lazarus punctuated each breath with a meaty jab as Jurota seemed on his last leg to Lazarus. Intending to end it, Lazarus lined up a finishing uppercut.

"End of the line, Hero! Lazarus takes the win-" Lazarus couldn't help but mock, reeling back before feeling a gentle tap on his shoulder from his left. His reflexes moving faster than his brain caused him to turn to the side instinctively, his eyes widening just in time for a single thought to make it to his mouth.

"Oh right there's two-" Lazarus found it impressive that he managed to get that much out before Pony's hoof connected with his face.

* * *

" _Ahaha- Wow. It's uh...it's moving! Yeah! Haha...Oh god. I think I'm going to be sick...no wait, I think that's excitement, no that's today's lunch…why did I do this..." Isaac ranted from on top the riding pony, his tiny seven year old body sent into overdrive as he clutched his mount, hyperventilating. Lazarus rolled his eyes from the ground, placing a hand on his hip._

" _For once, relax Isaac." Lazarus sighed, amused by his brother's antics, but also a little peeved that Isaac was hogging the ride. Lazarus had been the one most excited for the school field trip, so he felt he should have gotten the first ride. But Isaac was the teacher's pet, and Lazarus was as far from that positional as humanly possible._

" _This is...wow, pretty fun Laz! Okay, but I'm almost done, then you can go! Okay, soon, very soon. This pony is scaring me now." Isaac continued to blubber as the Pony cantered around the pen of its own volition. Nearby, the attendants stood by and chatted, paying minimal attention to the students running around aggressively petting the docile animals._

" _I'm so excited!" Lazarus suddenly felt like he was going to burst. He loved horses, and Ponies were basically small horses, and he was a small child, so it was like a training horse. He had always wanted to ride a horse, but he knew that horses were expensive, and his family tended to avoid things that were openly seen as expensive._

" _Do you remember the rules Lazarus? Do you want me to call someone over…" Isaac began to stress, and Lazarus rolled his eyes, blowing a raspberry at Isaac as the Pony slowed to a stop beside him. Lazarus reached out and petted the pony, his touch calming the already friendly animal._

" _I'm pretty okay Isaac, I know more about horses then those adults probably do!" Lazarus proudly declared, causing his brother to frown._

" _It's a pony, not a horse, and even if it was a horse, I doubt that's true." Isaac tried to stedy himself without grabbing onto the saddle for dear life._

" _Whatever! I've spent a lot of time learning about horses, and ponies are just smaller horses, I bet you I totally know more pony-facts then they do!" Lazarus spoke again, feeling an edge settle into his voice._

" _They're adults, Lazarus, they know more than we do…" Isaac bit his lip as to Lazarus, it seemed that his brother was insulting him. Lazarus puffed out his chest and blew air into his cheeks._

" _Do not!" Lazarus asserted, knowing fully well that adults did not always know more._

" _Lazarus...I don't wanna fight…" Isaac looked away and down, instantly calming Lazarus's temper, though leaving him with a bubbling frustration. He never wanted to fight with his brother, but his brother avoided conflict so much that Lazarus sometimes felt he couldn't even be upset around his brother without Isaac shutting down and curling into a ball._

" _It's not a fight...It's the truth, look!" Lazarus tried to cheer up his brother by walking down the pony, running a soothing hand along its side as he did so._

" _Ponies have thicker tails and manes then most horses, shorter necks, and stumpier legs!" Lazarus spoke the fact proudly, having no idea if it was always true, but from his observations, considered it fact._

" _And just like horses, ponies have powerful rear legs, which is why…" Lazarus fully circled to the back, rubbing the horse on the flank as he stood directly behind it, smiling as Isaac began to freak out._

" _Lazarus!" Isaac was about to shout, then remembered why he shouldn't shout, and ended up sounding half-strangled, which amused Lazarus greatly._

" _You should never stand…" Lazarus stretched out his words as he scratched harder, causing the horse to shift affectionately, which only further scared his brother._

" _Please stop…you're breaking the rules..." Isaac wined, clearly on the verge of tears, Lazarus let out a massive sigh. He was tired of people saying his brother was the mature one just because he got good grades, didn't get into fights, and was never sent to detention._

" _Okay okay...never stand directly behind a pony, I'll move now-" Lazarus finished with a wave of his hand, stopping his petting to put a hand on his hips, at that same moment, Arnold, a bratty boy with bird like wings under his arms, who was also in his class, threw a fit because one of the goats was trying to bite his feathers._

" _Stop!" Arnold screeched in a pitch that made Lazarus wince, Arnold's eagle-sounding predatory cry cut through the entire play area, and instantly, Lazarus was acutely aware of where exactly he was standing._

" _Whoop-" Lazarus began, before the pony bucked up, smashing both of its legs rather painlessly into Lazarus head. He died instantly._

 _Lazarus regenerated about half a minute later to the sound of shrieking adults crying about a dead child and an impending lawsuit that would leave them all broke and homeless._

 _He never did get to ride that pony._

* * *

"I never did get to ride that pony-" Lazarus vocalized his disjointed thought just before his body slammed into the wall, he felt his spine shift painfully as his other arm cracked to match his dominant hand.

Lazarus hit the ground hard, his skull ringing from the impact. He wasn't dead as far as he could tell, but he felt the entire world rotate around him like he was stuck on some kind of demented DJ table, so he assumed he had a minor concussion of some kind at the least, nothing he couldn't shake off.

"Laz-us! -sta- -ming-...-figh-...-not!" Kosei's voice floated into his ear, though Lazarus couldn't tell if the interference was because of damage to the earpeice, or the feeling of blood seeping out of his ear.

Somehow, Lazarus found the energy within himself to stand, he felt his vision swim and his body resist every move, but he stayed on his two feet. Through his unfocused vision, he saw Pony take out the capture tape. Suddenly aware that he had made two mistakes. Forgetting that it was a two on one fight, and forgetting that he could have just taken Jurota out with a roll of tape.

"Lazarus…" Pony spoke, giving Lazarus a moment of pause as genuine concern seemed to fill her voice.

"What...going...try and get me to surrender?" Lazarus smiled, managing to raise his hands to guard his face, even though his fingers felt like bricks of lead.

"You are really hurt...it is just training, and I don't think you can win this fight…sorry." Jurota's crisp voice entered the conversation, though there was a little wobble to his tone, his body clearly not fully recovered from Lazarus's devastating onslaught moments before.

"Look who's talking ...I'm not backing down...so come and make me!" Lazarus pounded his fists together, trying to hide his wince as his fists fragmented further, revealing the darkness just beneath his skin. Both the heroes suddenly seemed very unsure about engaging him again.

"A cornered animal is the most fierce, you know?" Lazarus taunted, forcing himself to take a shaky step forward, taking the initiative.

Instantly, Jurota stepped forward, clearly intending on ending the fight, though Lazarus couldn't stand the pity in the other boy's eyes.

"This is for your own good." Jurota ordered, swinging back, Lazarus tried meekly to throw a punch of his own, but his fatigue overtook him, and his hands dropped to his side, leaving him completely exposed.

Lazarus watched with dread as the blow grew closer to hitting its mark, before a pair of hands grabbed his from his chest and pulled him backwards, Lazarus heard a rush of air pass by his ears, and before his very eyes, a small barrier, not that much larger than his fist, appeared where his head was a moment before. As Jurota's hand impacted it, it cracked like a spiderweb, but held, clearly shocking the other student.

"Go!" Kosei screamed, half-leading, half-dragging Lazarus away from the two heroes, Lazarus didn't need that much prompting, instantly trying to shake the cement blocks from his feet as he struggled to keep up with his teammate. Lazarus looked over his shoulder again as Kosei took another deep breath and blew over his own shoulder, creating a larger barrier that blocked off the top half of the tunnel.

Jurota was already in hot pursuit, like a predator on the hunt, Jurota dropped to all fours and dived under the barrier. Pony however, whose view was most likely obstructed by Jurota massive size, could do nothing but gasp as she suddenly became aware of the obstruction in the dark, slamming face first into the air-shield and sprawling out on her back, groaning.

Jurota instantly stopped, turning around, moving a step towards his downed teammate, before Pony yelled from the ground.

"Go! Get them! I'll catch up! I believe in you, you can take them down!" Pony cheered from the ground as she rolled over to get up, stumbling slightly, Jurota nodded and turned back to face Lazarus and Kosei. Even from the space the two of them had made between them and the hero team, Lazarus could feel the determination in Jurota eyes.

"Stop looking and just run, you suicidal idiot!" Kosei screamed louder, shocking Lazarus and returning his attention to their frantic escape.

"..left up ahead." Lazarus meekly spoke, feeling tired, but suddenly much more energized as Kosei continued to drag him, obeying and ducking to the left passage. After what felt like an eternity running. Kosei suddenly turned another corner, and after a short hallway, ducked into a doorless doorway, with a crude sign above that denoted it the 'hostage room.'

Instantly. The two of them collapsed, Lazarus felt like he could hardly move, though Kosei looked like he could hardly breath, wheezing like he was having some kind of asma attack. The raven haired boy wanted to comfort his teammate, but he remembered he had a more pressing issue he had to resolve first.

"...Cube." Lazarus managed to get out between dry heaves, trying to stop himself from vomiting. Kosei wordlessly nodded, reaching into one of his utility pouches and pulling out Lazarus's cube, tossing it silently back to him. Lazarus instantly tore open his jacket, revealing his bare chest.

"Oh my...is this some kind of tactical show of power?" Midnight's voice drifted through the air, causing Lazarus to look over, the plain looking room didn't have much in it, a wooden table with four chairs near the back corner and the second enerence to the hostage (if the heroes had taken the long way around), and a metal chair in the center, where Midnight was sitting smugly. The entire room was actually well lit, unlike the rest of the subway, giving it a very deceptively safe feeling compared to the rest of the tunnels.

Lazarus said nothing in response to Midnight, electing instead to raise his cube up to his chest, placing it over where his heart would normally be. After a momentary delay, he felt the skin around the cube begin to become alive, shifting painlessly out of the way to allow the cube to return to where it belonged, despite never being kept, which was the empty cavity in his chest.

Almost instantly, relief and bliss washed over Lazarus. He looked down at his arms to see the cracks instantly seal themselves, vanishing, only to be replaced with regular, human cuts, leaking blood instead of the darkness of human despair or whatever was under his skin before. Lazarus sighed, placing his head against the wall as his breathing quickly regulated itself, his entire body suddenly working at a greater efficiency than normal.

"...Your...eyes…" Kosei huffed, his breathing far less strained than a moment ago, though still somewhat laboured. Lazarus nodded and put a small smile on his face.

"Bright green with the cube in, kinda dull without. Not many people notice, good eye. Pun intended. I feel a hell of alot better with the cube in, but I can also actually feel pain, so it's sixty-forty." Lazarus ended with a pointed finger, causing Kosei to huff, then cough painfully.

"Don't do that...it hurts to laugh...and I'm suppose to be mad at you...for screwing that all up…" Kosei finally began to suck in deep, regular breaths of air, standing back at almost his full hight, Lazarus couldn't meet his eye.

"I uh, lost my cool, a little." Lazarus admitted, as much to his teammate as himself. Kosei grunted.

"A little? You ran right into a two-on-one brawl with two students with physical augmentation quirks when you were already weakened. What did you expect? Neither of us could take those two in a fight, probably not even two on one in our favor! We don't have combat focused quirks! We're screwed! And you fighting them just took away our best out of hiding until we could outsmart them or something! Why?" Kosei's words were true, but that didn't make them any less harsh.

"I felt cornered, I don't know…I'm a pretty okay fighter, and I just...I needed to get back..." Lazarus sighed as he twiddled his thumbs, hoping fruitlessly that Kosei would just drop it.

"What? If you couldn't run away, why didn't you just use your quirk to get out of there!" Kosei continued to scold, clearly trying to figure something logical in Lazarus's plan and failing to find anything.

"I was afraid! Okay?" Lazarus admitted, stepping closer to his teammate, and feeling heat rise to his face. Kosei froze, caught off guard.

"What?" Kosei questioned, his harshness gone.

"My quirk has never done that before. At least not that I remember. Most of the time, whenever I'm separated from my cube I don't normally get a chance to return to it. I just wake up later back at my cube without remembering the last few hours beforehand. This time...it was like my body was decaying, and my soul was trying to escape…" Lazarus tried to put words to his experience, though he knew he was struggling. Kosei remained silent.

"I didn't...even think of risking death. It felt real, it felt like if I had died it would have been game over. I know, It wouldn't have been, I mean, I don't think it would have been, because I've regenerated other times when seperated. But I'm always in control, always. This time, it felt like something...something else was trying to take control of me, and it scared the hell out of me." Lazarus finished with a sigh, keeping on hand pressed against his forehead.

"Okay…well, we're both still...well, alive. So, we can still win this, right? Somehow, maybe..." Kosei spoke quietly, placing a hand on Lazarus's shoulder, he nodded in return.

"Right…" Lazarus began, before stopping, something dawning on him.

"What is it?" Kosei asked, seeing the change in Lazarus's posture. Lazarus could only grin.

"How much longer man?" Lazarus asked, instantly, Kosei clued in, pulling back his sleeve to reveal an ordinary looking watch underneath.

"...four more minutes, roughly, give or take ten seconds." Kosei spoke, his tone rising as a twinkle started in his eyes, Lazarus reached out and high fived the other student.

"We're over half-way there, we can do this!" Lazarus began to pace, feeling the energy return to him as excitement overtook his fatigue. We just have to hold out, we don't even have to beat them, just not lose.

"...Do you hear that?" Kosei suddenly stopped, turning his head to the main entrance they had just come through as a sound Lazarus could only describe as thunder echoed down the halls. Lazarus felt his pupils actually dilate.

"And here comes the Hero." Lazarus spoke, taking a step away from the entrance as Kosei quickly did the same. Almost instantly, Jurota's massive shape was visible in the short hallway leading up to the entrance way, and Jurota made no move to halt his momentum as he came charging towards them.

"And there goes any chance we had at victory…" Kosei's shoulders sagged as his voice dropped, the light in his eyes extinguished. Lazarus's however, didn't feel like he was ready to give up just yet.

"Kosei…" Lazarus spoke, as Jurota shape got larger and clearer as he approached, Kosei seemed equally frozen in terror.

"Kosei!" Lazarus yelled louder, reaching out and shaking his teammate, who seemed to have simply accepted that he was about to be run over by the human equivalent of a hungry bear.

"..." Kosei braced himself, fear clear in his eye, Lazarus looked between his ally and his foe for a moment, feeling his window to react close. He clenched his fists, before remembering their last brawl, and knowing he couldn't count on the same trick twice.

"I can't take him in combat…" Lazarus spoke, loosening his hands as his eyes landed squarely on Kosei.

"But I don't have to." Lazarus finished, reaching over and grabbing at the breathing tool around Kosei's neck, and in a single gesture, shoved it into his teammate's mouth and pressed down on the sides, activating it.

"Mmhhmhmhm?!" Kosei tried to speak as instantly his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, his chest shooting forward as it expanded outwards slightly beyond what Lazarus would consider safe for a human.

"Sorry man, I'm improvising here!" Lazarus ripped the device out of Kosei's mouth and divide behind him, pressing his hands together on top of his teammate's bulged out belly. Remembering the only maneuver he bothered learning back when he did first aid.

"Kosei's special improvised hero move; Air force...shield!" Lazarus shouted out, trying to mimic the other boy's voice as he did, waiting for the exact moment that Jurota was about to pass through the doorway. Before slamming his fists inwards and upwards in a massive heimlich maneuver to drain every ounce of air out of his teammate.

"Phhhhhhhh!" Kosei's voice resembled a jet engine firing off, Lazarus actually felt his hair blow back from the force of the air escaping Kosei's mouth as the air condensed in the doorway in front of them, forming a thick barrier that completely sealed the entrance off.

At the same moment, Jurota reached the formerly clear entrance himself. Without hesitation, he threw his shoulder forward, clearly intent on moving through the barrier.

'Thwunk' was the only sound Lazarus heard through the barrier as it vibrated slightly, yet showed no signs of being cracked or damaged. Jurota on the other hand, seemed somewhat phased by his full body-check being shrugged off by the barrier. Without hesitation, he tried to slam his body into it again, a little more cautiously. This time, the barrier didn't even waver at his blow, standing strong.

"..." Jurota said something, but the barrier's thickness compleatly blocked out the sound, leaving Jurota to desperately pound on the sheild for a few terrifying seconds to Lazarus, before he turned and dashed away back into the darkness. Lazarus finally let out the breath he had been holding.

"Oh thank god...now, they'll have no choice but to go all the way back and take the longer route around, and by the time they figure out how to get there, the clock should be low enough that if we put up any kind of a fight, hah! They'll run out of time before they can get the hostage out…not a bad plan, eh?" Lazarus asked his teammate, sweat dripping down his brow as he released his grip slightly, only for Kosei to instantly slip out of his hands and crumple the the floor, almost lifelessly.

"Oh...you...you okay there buddy?" Lazarus smiled, but his heart wasn't in it as he continued.

"Uh, Pal? Friend?" Lazraus tried to joke, but he felt actual concern leap into his throat as Kosei said nothing, simply laying on the ground with open eyes, his chest moving ever so slightly.

"...closer…" Kosei gasped, his voice weak and strained, like a chain smoker after fourty years of abuse. Lazarus quickly abided, dropping to the ground and grabbing his teammate's head as he leaned in to get his ear as close to Kosei's mouth as possible.

"What is it buddy? What do you need?" Lazarus felt guilt claw up his gut, he had made a rash improvisation, and now his teammate was actually hurt directly because of it. He felt his breath begin to come harder, worry twisting his intestines into knots. Kosei coughed again.

"...you suck at coming up with move names…" Kosei finally managed to get out, taking several massive gulps of air in between each word. At the end, Lazarus couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or cry.

"Hey, cut me some slack," Lazarus sighed, smiling down at his teammate, "I was improvising! Haha! You can always change the name before I spring it on you again." This time, it was Kosei's turn to weakly laugh, before he suddenly stopped, his eyes laser focused.

"If you ever do that to me again without asking, I will kill you." All the fun and dopiness had totally drained from Kosei's normally goober-like face, and suddenly, Lazarus felt very judged by those black eyes of his friend.

"Did not expect that from you...but, uh, yeah. D-duly noted Kosei-san er -kun, um yeah. No more improvising other people's hero moves without permission. You got it!" Lazarus suddenly didn't know if Kosei even wanted him to keep supporting his neck, or to just go stand in a corner or something.

"Good, because I was worried I'd have to kill you a few times before you got it through your skull. Your power makes it really hard to come up with actual serious ways to try and dissuade you from things, you know?" Suddenly, Kosei's goofy nature was back in full force, though Lazarus was unsure how seriously he needed to take Kosei's warning.

"Come on...they won't be able to get here with much time, but if they run around really fast, we might have to actually fight them to keep them from having enough time to escape." Lazarus stood up, reaching down to pull up his friend, who grabbed his extended hand and lifted himself to his feet.

"Okay...as long as I don't have to make any more barriers...I should be fine-" Kosei began, still breathing heavily. Lazarus was about to reply, but stopped, his gut warning him that something wasn't quite right. This was too easy.

The sound of the barrier cracking caught both their attentions, Lazarus met Kosei's fearful eyes, before they both turned to see a pair of sharp horns caught midway through the air shield, before being yanked out, causing more spider webs to form over the barrier. Both of them took a step away.

"Wow. I really underestimated Pony's power." Kosei dryly spoke, the same dread from before creeping back into his voice as the two of them watched Pony run backwards, before lowering her head and charging down the hall again.

"You know, fun fact, a Pony's legs have enough force behind them to instantly kill a seven year old child." Lazarus turned and smiled, trying to lift the mood as he pointed with a finger.

"Ah." Kosei nodded as they watched Pony charge forward, both utterly helpless, before Lazarus saw Kosei's head quizzically turn to the side.

"Wait, that was a really specific fact-" As Kosei voiced his sudden confusion, the barrier shattered, instantly turning back to air as Pony, clearly exhausted, stepped through the doorway, her normally wide and cheerful eyes filled with a thirst for victory.

"A hero, never lets any barrier…keep her from someone in need!" Pony earnestly spoke, her inner hero ignited as she charged forward, straight at Midnight.

"Oh my! How heroic! I'm saved~" Midnight cried, far more over-the-top and playfully, Lazarus was having none of it.

"You're on our turf now Hero!" Lazarus cried, fully embodying the role he was being forced to play as he reached out, grabbing Pony's exposed horns and twisting them to the side, pulling Pony's head, and her momentum, to the side and right into the nearby wall. Keeping his iron grip on her horns as she made no sign of slowing down as she ran out of space to run.

Instead of charging dead into the wall, however, Pony jumped at the last moment, using Lazarus's grip on her horns as a pivot point, bracing both her legs against the wall as she lept, back flipping and twisting her horns at the same moment, sending Lazarus crashing into the wall instead.

Lazarus stayed still for a moment, blinking away his disbelief at what just happened for a moment, before turning and dropping to his hands and knees, just avoiding another devastating kick from Pony.

"Fool me once!" Lazarus cried as he swung his right elbow forward, knocking the air out of Pony's lungs before following it up with a left hook as he stood back up to his full hight, sending her crashing to the ground.

Pony rolled over several times before coming to a stop, her breathing erratic and harsh, her physique clearly pushed to its absolute limit as she desperately tried to find the energy to stand again, trying to force her arms to push her body back up, but her own horns seemed to be weighing her down as her sweaty palms slipped on the ground beneath her, betraying the determined yet now worried expression on her face. Lazarus let out a few quick breaths, shaking his head as he moved to wrap some capture tape around her and end the fight.

"Lazarus-gah...hah…" Lazarus turned, his eyes instantly locking onto Kosei as his teammate leaned against the wall, painfully clutching his gut, at the same moment, Lazarus saw Jurota's foot as the other hero ran out of the longer-path exit to the room. A moment later, Lazarus realized the hostage was no longer in her chair.

"Oh crap." Lazarus muttered. Pony finally got to her knees, crawling towards Lazarus in some meek attempt to buy Jurota some time, without even thinking, Lazarus instinctively reared back and smashed his elbow into her face, knocking her out cold. It took Lazarus a moment to even realizes what he had just done.

"Sorry!" Lazarus declared, pointing at Pony's unconscious body as if she could respond to his apology in any way shape or form. A moment later, Lazarus began to sprint.

"Kosei! Take the short route, I'll try and catch up with him on foot!" As Lazarus reached the doorway, he kept calling over his shoulder.

"Take only the passages with circular shapes on them, the paths marked with lines are the longer ways around!" Lazarus heard Kosei weeze loudly in response, and without wasting another moment, put his full energy into catching up to the fleeing hero, feeling so much faster with his cube firmly in his chest.

Lazarus took turn after turn, trying to remember the shortest route even through the longer section, and just as he was about to lose hope, he caught a shape moving in the darkness ahead of him, a shape carrying another shape on it's back.

"You're not faster than me when you have a passenger big guy!" Lazarus called out, redoubling his efforts as the gap slowly but surely closed between them.

"Oh...oh no! Don't let him take me again! I'll be so defenceless against that heartless fiend~" Midnight spoke from Jurota's back, seemingly more invested in the action now that something was happening. Lazarus laughed.

"You wish I was heartless right now!" Lazarus felt another surge of energy overtake him as his heart pounded in his chest, each beat sending another pulse of energy through his body, giving him a much needed boost. He was moving faster then he had before, his heart shocking his body into motion with each pulse. Jurota was suddenly just within his reach.

Lazarus felt his body hiccup, his muscles backfiring as he pushed them past their limits, his step faltering as his whole body tilted sideways as he ran into the wall, giving Jurota a few moments to regain his lead.

Lazarus swore in english, slamming a fist into his chest, sending waves of real pain through his body as he pushed the cube deeper into it's crevice, instantly supercharging his body with energy again. Like being hit by a defibrillator while injecting adrenaline. No longer was it the relieved energy from before, it was a sickly, harsh power, he felt his muscles shake in protest as his hands began to twitch, he watched the skin that normally neatly surrounded the edges of his cube creep overtop of it, ignoring how vivid all of his usually dulled senses felt.

Suddenly, Lazarus was sprinting again, feeling a different, more violent decay spread through his body. His body wasn't designed to operate with this much efficiency, not after all the abuse he had taken. He'd need to remove the cube quickly afterwards, he couldn't stand the feeling of his broken body actually weighing on his mind.

Almost instantly, Lazarus closed the gap between him and Jurota, the larger boy having been significantly slowed down by having to carry the hostage as well as run at the same time. At that exact moment, Jurota hit the last fork in the road, and Lazarus could see sunlight up ahead, passed one last long hallway, pouring down from the staircase that doubled as the finish line for the heroes, the staircase was surrounded by crates and discarded boxes, but it seemed as if the single exit had opened up entirely to allow one narrow passageway to victory for the Heroes.

Jurota hit his second wind, taking off with increased speed, Lazarus saw his chance escaping him, and without hesitation, leaped forwards, wrapping his whole body around Jurota's leg in a desperate attempt to slow the massive student down. Jurota didn't even faulter.

"What the hell did your mother feed you?!" Lazarus screamed from his position, feeling his already battered body near it's breaking point as he was slammed into the floor with each step Jurota took.

"A taste of victory!" Jurota roared in response, shaking his leg to the side as he hopped forward, too tired to try anything else to remove Lazarus from his leg, Lazarus was also too tired to capitalize on the awkward moment and was simply holding on for dear life.

"That's a good comeback!" Lazarus cried in response, just as Jurota stepped down, crushing Lazarus under his foot, As he did, Lazarus felt the already deeply embedded cube press further back into his chest, sending waves of agony through his entire body as he could do nothing but scream, his body convulsing at the shock of feeling so many things. His nerves all crying out that he needed to stop.

"Let go! Just give up!" Jurota spoke, pressing down harder, as Lazarus tightened his grip, fighting back his pain with teary eyes.

"I'm not strong enough to beat you, but I'm strong enough to die trying!" Lazarus suddenly could breathe again, as Jurota simply decided that he'd have to drag Lazarus across the finish line with him. Though Lazarus could feel the fatigue in Jurota's legs with each step he had to take.

"We're almost there!" Midnight remarked, looking at the rapidly approaching staircase from above Lazarus's position on the ground. Without warning, Jurota jerked his leg out, knocking Lazarus's grip loose, and sending him tumbling to the ground. As Jurota quickly ran forward, stumbling slightly with each step.

From the floor, Lazarus was completely on empty, watching helplessly as Jurota approached the finish line, acutely aware that their impending failure was completely on his shoulders, his own lack of teamwork and intelligence in fighting had cost them the win, and he was solely to blame.

All Lazarus could do was reach out a desperate hand, watching Jurota reach the last few steps away from the exit.

Lazarus saw Midnight tense, as if she saw something he and Jurota couldn't before she suddenly jumped off Jurota's back, at the same moment, the air in front of Jurota shimmered slightly as Jurota ran head-first into a perfectly placed barrier right at his eye level. Knocking the massive boy flat on his behind, Lazarus saw Jurota looked around frantically, disoriented and at his wits end, at the the same moment, a voice descended down from the top of the stairs, as well as being projected directly into his ear.

"Time. Is. Up! Villain team, wins!" Lazarus rose up, only to fall to his knees as Kan's voice echoed around him and down the hallway behind him, delivering his verdict onto the training arena.

Jurota stood as well, the student grunted once, pushed his glasses farther up his face, and then passed out, obviously having no strength left in his body.

From behind one of the crates, Kosei stood, leaning against the box as sweat poured down his face, which had turned a slight shade of blue. He smiled widely at Lazarus.

"Good...idea...marking...shortcuts...real...fast." Kosei somehow managed to speak, stumbling over to Lazarus and offering a hand. Lazarus gingerly took it as he pulled himself up, unsure if trying to get Kosei to support any weight at all would be a wise idea.

Suddenly, Lazarus felt another hand grab his arm, throwing it up into the air. Lazarus looked behind him to see that Midnight had somehow snuck behind him and was lifting both his and Kosei's arms into the air in a pose of victory, declaring them the champions.

"Good fight boys...good fight." Midnight spoke, her sultry voice surprisingly professional as she delivered her praise. Kosei blushed, Lazarus just rolled his eyes.

"We did it pal!" Lazarus looked over at Kosei, who despite looking like the walking dead, had the biggest smile on his face that Lazarus had ever seen, his eyes shiny with tears of happiness, as if he couldn't quite believe what had happened.

"Whooh!" Kosei yelled, his voice echoing down the hall as Lazarus laughed at the massive shout. A second later, however, Kosei looked him dead in the eyes.

"That was a bad idea." Kosei spoke quietly, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out, his body being held up entirely by the arm, which Midnight gently lowered to the floor before releasing.

"Vlad! We're going to need the nurse!" Midnight called up to Kan, who quickly and gruffly replied.

"She's already sending some bots down!" Kan's voice was sudden far more drainned, and Lazarus wondered how much of that fight was anything like it was supposed to be.

"Come on Lazarus-kun." Midnight's voice called him from his distracting thoughts. Lazarus looked up to see Midnight, somehow carrying both Jurota and Kosei on her back as she ascended the stairs (in high heels, no less).

"Yeah, I'm coming." Lazarus replied, suddenly feeling full of emotions, reaching down to his chest, undoing his vest to allow his fingers to hover over the edges of his cube still showing, before quickly yanking it entirely from his chest. His nerves finally quieting as he felt a new level of fatigue, but painless fatigue, overtake him.

Lazarus looked back, back into the darkness of the tunnel, and smiled, rubbing the spot on his arm where Midnight had held him when she declared his and Kosei's victory, the smile not quite going away. Before shaking the feeling from his mind. Clasping his vest and rubbing the sore spot on his chest.

Without delaying further, Lazarus took a step forward, up onto the stair in front of him, before he took another step, and another, and another…

And once again, he felt the warmth of the sun warm his skin.


	14. Twists and Turns

**What is up everyone! Bench-be-yolking back with another Taxes and Taxes chapter!  
**

 **Thanks to everyone who kept me going through the hard parts, now I've finally hit my stride with this story and can keep the updates rolling out.**

 **A little note though, because I have had people mention it before, and I want to clear it up; Feel free to dislike Lazarus and criticize his choices.**

 **Lazarus is not always a good person, he doesn't always make the right choices, he's angry, wrathful, has an irrational mistrust of authority and while he wants to help people, he's easily led astray by anyone who earns his trust. A very dangerous combination.**

 **...That being said, Lazarus is still the protagonist and his job is to be somewhat likable. If you ever find him a little too mean-spirited or harsh, feel free to let me know in a review so I can take it into, well, review! I'm not a very practiced writer, so I'm always looking for pointers, be it on my pacing, my plot, or my characters!**

 **Thank you all for continuing to read my little story, I'm so happy and continually feel blessed that there are people who actually want to read the things I write, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading! (That goes to every guest, as well as my 50+ followers and 39 favorite-ers! You guys rock!)**

 **Without further ado! The story continues~**

 **I'll let the chapter speak for itself...**

* * *

Lazarus felt the heat of the sun finally cool off, the metal hallway feeling cold, especially after his quick trip to the nurse's office.

"Poe-kun, I'm glad you were able to finally rejoin us." Kan spoke from the front of the group, just as Lazarus passed through the metal door leading to the observatory area. Almost instantly, the entire class seemed to turn.

Lazarus suddenly felt self conscious about his appearance, running a hand through his hair as he smiled back at his classmates, giving a quick wave as he stepped forward.

"Recovery girl works quickly! You look good as new!" Tetsutetsu declared, Lazarus shrugged coyly. Just because a few of the students knew his quirk, he didn't need to broadcast why he had 'recovered' so quickly from such bad injuries. He had to keep a few tricks to himself, and as the winner, he had a little bit of a right to his mysterious nature.

"Sorry folks, I'm the only one from my group joining us, Nurse is holding the others for a while, just being carefully, apparently, there was some issues with air ventilation down there and with how much running they did, she's just making sure there's no issues with anyone's lungs." Lazarus explained apologetically as he pointed at the closing door behind him. Keeping his spirits high as he skipped across the room.

"Well, thank you for delivering the news, Poe-kun." Kan gruffly spoke, nodding slowly, Lazarus raised his hand again.

"Oh and uh, Recovery Girl wants to talk to you later, something about irresponsible endangerment, or whatever." Lazarus coughed as he trained off quietly, trying to soften the news. Kan's irritated expression told him it didn't work.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to do that." As Kan finished he sighed, then looked around the group, who had finally stopped staring at Lazarus and gone back to looking towards their teacher.

Lazarus walked up to the group, and looked at the results, he had missed all the other matches, but at the least, he could get a feel for the class. As if reading his mind, Kendo leaned over with a grin on her face.

"You missed a couple of good fights, shame you didn't get to see any of it. But you were a real glutton for punishment out there." Kendo spoke plainly, the only thing giving away the humor behind her otherwise cold analysis was her smile.

"Did I at least manage to dish out what I took in?" Lazarus replied, keeping his eyes on Kan as he spoke. He saw Kendo chuckle. He grinned back, his mood infinitely improved, his regeneration offsetting his fatigue for a while.

"At the least you did. We thought Jurota was going to rip you limb from limb! You should have seen the shock when you started laying into him, half the class was laughing and the other half was trying to pick their jaws off the floor. You're a little more competent than people pegged you for. Congrats." Her dry praise was betrayed by a little admiration behind her words. Lazarus smiled back.

"Who are you? Neito? You can't give a compliment without delivering it with a solid backhand?" Lazarus nudged her with his elbow, she rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Okay, okay, you did good. I don't think Kan agreed with the class though…" As Kendo trailed off, Lazarus felt worry worm it's way into his throat, scared to ask what she meant. The worry wormed its way further into his gut, threatening to awaken something more detrimental to his life then worry.

Right on cue, Kan cleared his throat as he looked around, nodding carefully.

"Now, I want to congratulate you all on your performance, you all gave it your all out there, and your performance reflected that. Every battle was hard fought, and even against impossible odds, some of you managed to overcome the obstacles. For those who did not, don't worry, you are here to learn, and you'll get your chance." As Kan finished, the group devolved into scattered conversations again, before Kan stomped to regain everyone's focus.

"I have been reviewing everyone's performances as they came off the field, but, I want to give special attention to one particular match. Namely, Poe-kun's match, seeing that he is the only one well enough to attend." Kan pointed him out, and Lazarus felt the attention shift onto him, again, as Kendo stepped a polite distance away.

"The good kind of special attention, I hope?" Lazarus laughed, but Kan seemed to be in no joking mood.

"This was a perfect example of how important it is to recognize and adapt to a changing battlefield, and how sometimes, simple chance can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. Though the villains, won, I assure you all..." Kan stopped and looked Lazarus dead in the eyes. At the same moment, Lazarus felt his skin crawl, and an unexpectedly indignant anger begin to form in his gut.

"...if I had not clearly defined the rules beforehand, I would have awarded the win to the Hero team. They deserved it." Kan finished, his frown suddenly driving Lazarus crazy. Lazarus felt the fire of rage crawl up his throat and seep into his spine. He felt his fist clench and his fingernails dug deep into his skin.

"Oh, really?" Lazarus spoke, stepping forward, he instantly saw surprise register in Kan's eyes, as well as several of his classmates take another step away from him, and even in his hazy anger, he knew he had to be very careful not to overstep the line he had suddenly uncovered.

"I mean, Sensei, I'm not sure I understand. We won fair and square. It was, our victory." Lazarus felt his anger quell, as he stepped back with a plastic smile, driving the rage back into his gut as his head cooled, slightly. He fought to control his emotions, repressing them before they could do more damage. Yet in his gut they remained.

"Shall we review your fight then?" Kan spoke, his voice cool, but a hard edge was evident underneath. As he spoke, Kan hit a few buttons on his remote, as the screens changed to a camera grid, revealing Lazarus and Kosei in the underground, frozen in place.

"At the beginning of the fight, instead of protecting the hostage, or working to develop a way to use your quirks together, you immediately separate and go to opposite ends of the subway. While your plan to mark the path was clever, it was ultimately wasted, considering that you get to the edge of the area and then sit down and stay perfectly still for about three minutes." As Kan continued, he fast forwarded through the video, and Lazarus felt both irritated and validated as he watched his hollow body sit perfectly still at the edge of the subway. No abominations or decay in sight. As he feared, he looked like a vegetable for no reason.

"I'll admit, it wasn't the most solid way to start the match…" Lazarus gave his teacher the point, he did understand the value of picking the right battles, but if the offer appeased Kan at all, he didn't show it.

"Next, you proceed to ignore your partners warnings and drunkenly stumble down the entire subway, making as much noise as humanly possible I might add, until you run headlong into the hero team by accident." Yet again, Kan paused the video and pointed, and Lazarus couldn't come up with a good counterpoint here either.

"There were some other factors at play there! Okay, I get it, I got into a fight I couldn't win without backup, but, I fought it out, pretty well, and we still managed to pull out the win with some team thinking-" Lazarus took his hands out of his pocket and held them up, hoping to calmly bring the discussion to a close before he did something he'd regret, Kan didn't seem to be on the same page as he was.

"Tsuburaba-kun, he strategized the entire match, pulled you out of danger, and then you proceeded to rely on his quirk solely to get you out of danger till the very end. Afterwards, he couldn't even remain conscious. He showed resolve, cunning, and skill." Kan heaped praise onto Kosei's action, and Lazarus felt his anger bubble from his gut as he grinded his teeth, knowing fully well what was going to come next.

"You, on the other hand Lazarus, made counter-intuitive strategic choices, were utterly MIA for the first bit of the exercise, ignored your partner's advice, engaged in a fight you had no hope of winning, knocked out another student was was clearly already out of it, and ultimately failed to even stop the Heroes from making it inches away from the end. If the hero team had five more seconds, you would have lost and quite honestly, I'd make sure your mark heavily reflected the part you would have played in that. Plain and simple." Kan's cold admonishment only heated Lazarus's temper more, he felt blood trickle down his fingers, his tightened palms cutting into his new flesh, he felt like his teeth were going to break, and his eyes felt a little misty in the worst way.

"They didn't." Lazarus spoke, trying to keep his tone level, feeling betrayal ripple through his body as his voice shook slightly, prompting him to take another breath, forcing his wild emotions to at the very least let him keep his dignity. He hated it, he hated it all, he hated how he felt and how he acted, how he couldn't control it and how it controlled him. He hated his father, he hated how his father's blood poisoned him.

"Excuse me, Poe-kun?" Kan spoke, and though his voice said 'repeat that' his tone said, 'shut up.' Lazarus knew he was too dumb to stop now.

"They didn't have five more seconds, sensei. They had the exact amount of time you gave them, and we had the exact amount of time you gave us. My choices were the influence of the very specific circumstances of the exercise. I'll admit." Lazarus forced the treble in his chest to stop, his rational mind screaming at him to shut his mouth and just end the conversation. His rational mind wasn't in control right now.

"I- my performance was sub-par, but, it's unfair to declare that a team 'should' have won, because they simply didn't. The outcome is the outcome. Regardless of how close it was, we won. Maybe it wasn't the best victory, but I mean, it's a little unfair to both me and my teammate to say we didn't earn it." Lazarus finished, standing his ground, he became vaguely aware of the panicked glances of the students around him, but his focus was totally on Kan.

Kan's face seemed to betray nothing, as if he was keeping his cards right against his chest, but, Lazarus had seen that exact expression before, that thinly veiled disgust and disappointment. How many adults had he seen wear that exact expression around him, he couldn't even count any more. They were all the same, all of them. They all wanted to take what little Lazarus could call his own, call himself proud of, and destroy it. All of them.

"Very well Poe-kun, I suppose you are technically correct. Though if you want to clutch that tightly to a technical victory, I wonder if you even got the point of the exercise in the first place." Kan's voice wasn't even angery, simply condescending to Lazarus's ears, like a parent lecturing a naughty child, and it drove Lazarus to the edge.

The poisonous blood was all through his body now, it had infected him, spreading to every edge of his being, every painless nerve hurt through emotion. Every atom screaming at him to throw something, or hit something, or hurt anything. It clouded his vision, heated his breath and caused his heart to pound. Any positivity he felt towards Kan melted, and suddenly, it was the local police chief back home, his middle school teacher who laughed at his dreams, his brother's pitty, and everyone who had ever taken something away from him swirling in front of his eyes.

"Don't…" Lazarus began, and he saw the flash in Kan's eyes, the moment that his teacher's patience wore thin, and Lazarus knew, he knew that Kan was judging every word, and weighing Lazarus's every action against him, and he was most likely standing dangerously close to the edge of expulsion. And he was weighing if he cared or not. Even if he was expelled, his brain could focus only on victory, on winning, on proving Kan wrong, somehow. On getting back the feeling he had had of accomplishment, of having achieved something, anything, and not having to feel bad about it. Kan had taken it. He wanted it back.

Suddenly, as if the storm parted ways, Lazarus saw Neito's face in the crowd, unlike most of the group around him who were awkwardly trying not to engage in the display before them, Neito was watching with his full, undivided attention. As soon as their eyes met, Neito shook his head in a single slow gesture of communication, of understanding.

Lazarus felt the haze clear, his embarrassment overtake him and his body melt, the tension transfering to the floor as his hot blood sucked back into his gut, going back to sleep where it always rested, waiting to be awakened by any inconvenience. Lazarus felt tears prick his eyes as the shame crashed into him like a wave. He was acting like a child, no, less then a child.

"I- I don't think I did, Sensei, Forgive me. I'll take your advice into consideration. Truely. Th-thank you for your criticism. I'll make sure I improve. With your help. Thank you." Lazarus bowed low, hoping to hide his suddenly pathetic emotional state. He hated this even more than the anger. The shame was worse. The guilt that clawed constantly at him, that made him aware that every action he took was wrong, that always made sure he knew it was his fault when he lost control.

Kan seemed utterly shocked by Lazarus's compleat heel-turn, and Lazarus couldn't blame him, very quickly, he himself adjusted himself, trying to figure out where to go.

"Well, uh, it's...my job to instruct you, Poe-kun, I do hope you understand that I mean this for your own good, so, just, keep it in mind in the future." Kan finished with an awkward 'hm' sound, leaving the entire room in Silence, Lazarus felt his hair fall over his face, which served him fine, considering he didn't really want anyone looking at him right now.

He quickly moved away from Kan, standing at the edge of the group. The students around him made an effort not to bother him, he made the same one back, as Kan finally got back on track, and returned to further discussion about the exercise results. Leaving Lazarus to sit with his own self-inflicted punishment.

Class ended what felt like an eternity later, and Lazarus left without another word to anyone.

* * *

"Lazarus!" Hanta called out, his voice carrying across the call, finally registering in Lazarus's downturned ears. He straightened himself up, blinking away his thoughts as he turned to face his friend with a smile.

"Hanta! I guess you just got out of class too! Feels like it's been a while man, how you doing?" Lazarus walked across the hall, lowering his voice to a casual tone as he finally reached his friend, holding his bag in one hand as he stuck his other in his pocket.

"Less the twenty-four hours man, maybe you've forgotten, but your half-dead corpse walking into my kitchen is pretty fresh in my mind still." Hanta frowned, raising his eyebrows quizically.

Lazarus put a hand to the back of his neck as he couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly, he was hoping he could avoid that. He cleared his throat.

"Yeah, sorry about that, we're still cool right?" Lazarus smiled as genuinely as he could manage, and Hanta rolled his eyes as he punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed at you, but it's not like you killed anyone or anything...you're not a bad person Lazarus. So yeah, as long as you hold up your end of the deal, we're cool. Totally." Hanta nodded, smiling, as Lazarus felt a knot untying itself in his gut as he relaxed.

"Awesome, er, where are my manners, how was class?" Lazarus inquired, Hanta started wandering towards the stairs, slowing down to motion for him to follow, and Lazarus quickly did.

"Well, english was hell- but most likely not as bad as it would have been before I met you, so that's something." Hanta began to recount his experience in class, holding out his fingers as if to keep track of the events, which Lazarus quickly grew bored of.

"Common, I mean the good stuff! How was your hero training? With All-Might himself no less!" Lazarus proded Hanta, who's own smile grew larger.

"It was...you know, the coolest thing ever! There was a bomb, and two on two scenarios...I mean, I had to play the villain which sucked, but it was still an awesome class, I already feel like All-Might will be able to teach us all a lot. Even though we lost, he gave me some praise! All Might praised my work!" Hanta began to rant, cooling himself off with a deep breath as they reached a landed, Lazarus glanced at the signage out of the corner of his eye, he assumed this is where class-A resided. He shrugged and turned his eyes back to his eager pal.

"That's great! My experience in B was pretty similar, playing the villain and all...but uh, well I 'won' but I didn't really get any praise…" Lazarus started with a smile, his mouth turning to a grimace as he finished.

"It couldn't have been that bad man! As long as you didn't you know, lose your temper or anything!" Hanta consoled him, patting him lightly on the back, which Lazarus responded to with an equally enthusiastic nod, waiting until Hanta took a few steps ahead to let out a dejected sigh.

"That damn temper of mine...hah." Lazarus mumbled to himself, his mind wandering back to when he had gotten back to the test area and the whole previous debacle.

Lazarus sighed, feeling the now repressed emotions already trying to come up again, he pushed them further down. Hanta looked over, his face quickly shifting to pity, which while Lazarus didn't like it, he'd accept it from Hanta and Hanta alone.

"Oh man. You didn't. Did you?" Hanta didn't specify what he meant, but he didn't really have to.

"Yeah it was, uh a… unfortunate time to lose control of my emotions. Needless to say, I have some...apologizing to do later. A-Anyways, what are we doing up here, you leave your umbrella in class or something?" Lazarus joked as he caught up to Hanta's stride. Hanta chuckled, clearly choosing to accept Lazarus's offer to move on.

"Nah, I'm just double checking that I grabbed everything, I don't want to leave anything on the first day of class after all! It'd be pretty, well…" Hanta began to speak, before a gruff sound echoed from around the next corner.

"It would be irrational." A tired man spoke as he turned the corner, his own bloodshot tired eyes mirrored Lazarus's own. His scraggly nature and long black hair gave him the appearance of some kind of lazy do-nothing, but Lazarus pegged something in the other man's eyes that reminded him of something dangerous.

As Lazarus looked the man over, he couldn't shake the feeling he had seen him before, but Lazarus knew he had never seen the man here at UA, or at his apartment, so he couldn't think of anywhere else he could have known him from.

"Aizawa-Sensei!" Hanta jumped, clearly caught off guard as he greeted who Lazarus guessed was his teacher.

"Sero-kun, I've already swept the homeroom, you didn't leave anything. So go home." Aizawa spoke plainly, his voice lacking energy. Lazarus couldn't help but observe closely, knowing fully that Aizawa would shape class A just as Kan would shape class B. Suddenly, Aizawa looked back.

"Who's this. I don't recognize him." Aizawa's eyes pierced Lazarus, they almost reminded him of Stain's. Though while Stains were filled with a fire, Aizawa's were filled with a cool determination. Lazarus shook it off and stepped forward slightly, offering his hand instinctively, completely unsure if the gesture was too American or not.

"Lazarus, Lazarus Poe. It's a pleasure to meet you Aizawa-...uh...saaaaannn…" Lazarus flickered his eyes from Aizawa's tired face to glance at Hanta, who was wearing a massive frown while waving his hand in front of his throat in a very 'stop' gesture, Lazarus corrected his course.

"-saaaaaaannnnsei, Sensei. Aizawa Sensei." Lazarus finished, yet again glancing at Hanta, who was giving him two thumbs up with a big smile.

"So you're not from around here. Not knowing the customs of where your staying is irrational." Despite Aizawa's words, he did accepte Lazarus's offer with a firm handshake. Lazarus noted that the teachers face never changed. Hanta coughed.

"Yes! Aizawa-Sensei, this is my American friend from class B, Poe-kun." Hanta repeated his introduction. Lazarus glared at his friend as he yet again continued to trend of introducing him as Poe-kun, but he let it slide, this once.

"And Lazarus, this is my teacher, Aizawa-Sensei, but you might know him by his hero name; the erasure hero, Eraserhead!" As Hanta finished, Lazarus stiffened, immediately placing where he had seen Aizawa before.

"Eraserhead?" Lazarus meekly repeated, turning his eyes to stare at Aizawa's own bloodshot eyes. Fear bubbling in his gut.

* * *

 _Newtonia's limp body was thrown against the wall of the alleyway with such force that the wall caved in, bricks and dust obscuring Lazarus's view of his incapacitated sister. As Lazarus hit the ground and tumbled, feeling his body bruise from the distance he had just jumped down from above. He looked at his sister with worry, he would have been terrified for her, if he wasn't so afraid for his own life for once._

 _Lazarus struggled to get back to his feet, feeling knocked off kilter by the torrential rain and howling wind. He took a moment to wipe the blood and sweat from his neck, fighting with the sudden struggle to see through his mask._

 _Another massive gust of wind hit him unexpectedly, funneled through the alley like a natural wind tunnel, keeping him on his toes as he battled against the new threat, and the elements. He looked back over his shoulder, seeing his brother halfway out the broken window that Newtonia had been thrown from, guarding himself from Newtonia's attacker as he turned and leaped._

" _Newtonia!" Lazarus heard Isaac call as he descended, dressed in his Grav outfit, His brother hit the ground with such force that the street cracked and dented underneath him, leaving a crater which he effortlessly emerged from to look at the hole his sister had been thrown into. Isaac let out a scream that tore through the weather, his brotherly instincts clearly kicking in, as Lazarus immediately noted the fury in his brothers features, even if the other boy's face was hidden behind his own mask._

" _Take this you black-haired bastard!" Isaac screamed, throwing out his hands towards the building the two of them had just jumped from. His palms flat, before he squeezed his fingers together forcefully into two half-fists. Before Lazarus could say a word. He felt the air escape from his lungs as his knees buckled._

 _The entire world seemed to shimmer, Lazarus heard a stray cat screech from nearby as the aging garbage bins groaned in stress. His legs continue to shake, his spine feeling compressed. Isaac pressed on, and before Lazarus's eyes, the entire building before them began to shake._

" _Take Newtonia and run! I'll keep the building on lockdown! Get her out of here!" Isaac shouted, the strain evident in his voice as he extended his powers to their limits. Lazarus somehow found the energy to stand, barely._

" _I'm not leaving you here Grav! There's gotta be-" Lazarus shouted, trying to make himself heard over the groaning of the objects around them, before instantly, he felt himself straighten, his body decompressing as the rain and wind returned to the only sound around them. Lazarus looked at his brother._

 _Isaac for his part, looked down at his own hands, still in the same position they were a moment before, Isaac began to flex them again, but before he could, a thick strand of cloth rushed down from above, wrapping fully around Isaac's arm. Isaac barely had time to think before a black figure followed after the cloth, delivering a heavy kick directly to Isaac's exposed chest._

 _Lazarus watched in disbelief as his brother was thrown like a ragdoll, his body tumbling to the side of the alleyway. Instantly, Lazarus tore his eyes away from his brother, just in time to duck underneath another throw of the cloth, the material ruffling his hair as it passed just over him, before retracting back to the mysterious figure._

 _A crack of lightning split the sky, and Lazarus saw their foe for the first time, clad in all black, with a pair of yellow goggles and a scarf made of that mysterious cloth. He stood stoically, his eyes locked on Lazarus._

" _Who are you? Rival gang? Ninja of vengeance? Deep Well?" Lazarus called out to the figure, balling his fists as he stepped forwards. The attacker remained silent as Lazarus approached. Lazarus cursed._

" _I'm a hero." The figure finally answered, a thick accent over his voice, the figure clearly wasn't a native english speaker. Tilting his head, the 'hero' raised his hands into a fighting stance, grabbing the cloth around his neck, which twisted and moved to free an end for him to ready to use._

" _We don't want trouble, we aren't part of the gang, we were there to take them out, maybe this is one big misunderstanding." Lazarus stopped his approach, the figure's calm demeanor freezing the liquid fire in his blood. He wanted to make this guy pay for what he did, but for once, Lazarus's wasn't sure if he could._

" _Vigilantism is irrational. It is still a crime." The figure replied, slowly, as if trying to remember the words in english. Lazarus couldn't place the figure's accent, but he knew this guy was something else._

 _Lazarus didn't like having to fight heroes, but every now and then, a sidekick trying to go solo would roll into town and instead of going after the gangs like an actually helpful figure, they would inevitably go after the glory of finding and taking down the local 'Masks' that were 'destabilizing' the city, so far, the three of them had survived. Barely._

 _Lazarus didn't hesitate, instantly, he darted forward, keeping his hands up as he weaved to the side, intent on nailling the figure's exposed ribs. The figure moved so quickly, Lazarus could barely follow with his eyes. Instantly, Lazarus's hand was grabbed and his body was wrapped in that damn cloth, his movement instantly constricted as he was spun around and knocked to the ground. The Hero putting a single foot on Lazarus's chest, staring down at his ensnared prey._

" _You are kids." The man spoke, the English not quite coming out right. Lazarus assumed the comment was meant to be chiding, or perhaps mournful, instead, Lazarus took it as a rather blunt insult as his face turned red with anger._

" _Hey! Let me outta this forced blanket and I'll show you how much of a kid I am! You think you're tough with your cool kung-fu ninja scarf and wearing goggles at night! I'll give you a taste of a real-" Lazarus continued to struggle as the man pressed down on Lazarus's chest with a little more force, silencing him._

" _There are always consequences for your actions. Accept it." The hero spoke, looking down on Lazarus, who felt heat continue to irradiate off of him in waves,his face feeling like an oven. Sometimes, Lazarus wondered if he had a heat type quirk he had just never fully realized._

" _Sorry, Hero, I don't want to hurt you…I really really don't..." Isaacs voice drifted over from behind them, but before the Hero could turn, Lazarus felt the rain around him become as forceful as rocks pelting his flesh._

 _The hero hunched over and grunted, as the gravity around them seemingly octupled in force. From behind the Hero's hunched head, Lazarus saw Isaac, standing on shaky feet with one arm leaning against the wall, his mask had shattered half way, revealing that one of his blue eyes were swollen shut from the fight. Lazarus felt his gut sink, his brother may have looked tough, but he knew Isaac had barely any pain tolerance. Still, his brother continued to press, his hand turning shaky as he continued to grab at the air._

" _...and sorry Lich, I know this isn't going to be comfortable...but with everything on the line, I hope you two understand…" Isaac coughed, a bit of blood leaking out of his mouth as it dripped out from under his mask, his hand closed further and Lazarus felt the strain on his body increase._

" _I can't afford to hold back now!" Isaac shouted as he finally closed his hand fully, channelling his quirk and forcing himself to his limits._

 _Instantly, Lazarus felt the foot on his gut turn into a knee as the Hero was forced down ontop of him. Lazarus wasn't fairing much better, feeling every bone in his body shift as he began to feel like a pancake. He felt something give inside._

" _Yeah, oh, that was my appendix, that's gone now, this is not comfortable." Lazarus gritted his teeth as he felt the hero's knees shake. The hero was still somehow keeping his hands on the ground and his torso upright, slowly turning his head to the side to look at Isaac._

" _I'm sorry! I don't want to do this to you sir! But I have to protect my family!" Isaac cried, his arm turning purple and blue as bruises spread from his fingertips. He reached with his other hand, grabbing his outwards hand to keep it steady, leaning his body fully against the wall._

 _The Hero finally turned his head, in a single sharp gesture to look at Isaac, and instantly, the force stopped._

 _Lazarus took a deep breath, gasping as he finally put two and two together._

" _...Quirk...suppression..?" Lazarus raspy voice barely managed to make a sound above a whisper, as Isaac began to quickly open and close his hand, he saw panic set in as his brother began to shake his head in disbelief._

 _The hero stood, rolling his shoulders as if he hadn't just felt the force of a bus being placed down on top of him, Lazarus reached out and grabbed at the Hero's shoe, wrapping an arm feebly around it._

" _You...won't hurt...hi-" Before Lazarus could finish, the Hero kicked, knocking Lazarus onto his back. At the same moment, Isaac let out a war cry, swinging his non-bruised fist at the Hero, who sidestepped the attack and tripped Isaac, wrapping him up in his Cloth on the way down._

 _Lazarus stood and charged, feeling his anger peak as he engaged the Hero. The Hero ducked underneath, grabbing Lazarus around the neck and pinning his arms behind his back. Lazarus felt his throat constrict, the Hero's chokehold quickly sapping the strength from Lazarus's already battered body._

" _...you…" Lazarus choked out, feeling the heat quickly extinguish from his face, draining along with the colour. The Hero tightened his grip mercilessly._

" _Sleep. You've lost, admit it. Two children and a little girl are not a fair matchup." The Hero spoke, a strike of lightning punctuated the Hero's decree, and Lazarus felt defeat, along with fatigue, begin to overtake him. Lazarus tried to twist his head to get some small gasp of air into his lungs, but wherever he turned, the Hero's grip remained constantly even. However, as Lazarus looked to the side, he saw a blur coming from behind the Hero._

 _As if sensing something from Lazarus's sudden surprise, the Hero released Lazarus's arms while keeping the headlock, throwing his elbow backwards. Lazarus saw Newtonia's bruised and angry body rushing the Hero from behind. Her face was contorted in singular, focused determination. Lazarus saw the elbow fly towards her face, but before it could connect, Lazarus saw a flash in Newtonia's eye, and the elbow stopped dead, it's momentum completely halted in an instant._

 _Lazarus felt the stiffness in the Hero's body at the effect of Newtonia's quirk, seizing his chance, Lazarus used what little energy he had left to reach up with his now unpinned hands and threw them over the Hero's eyes, blinding him momentarily._

" _Where do you get off calling me a little girl, huh?" Newtonia spat with venom. The blinded Hero tried to throw his cloth out, (with to Lazarus, terrifying accuracy), but just like his elbow, it froze in mid air and fell to the floor an inch before touching Newtonia._

 _Newtonia sudddenly ducked, moving inbetween Lazarus and the Hero by rolling underneath his legs, throwing an uppercut at the Hero as she stood. In the instant before she connected, Lazarus saw a flicker in Newtonia's eye as she released the energy she had stored._

" _Take a little opposite reaction! You hobo-looking freak!" Newtonia laughed maniacally, instantly, the Hero was thrown up into the air by his own former energy. Both Lazarus and Isaac toppled to the floor. Newtonia didn't sit on the opportunity._

" _Get off your ass and help damn it! Isaac! Hit him with the combo!" Newtonia flipped her head and threw her long damp blond hair off her mask. Isaac whimpered from the ground._

" _My arms...my head...they hurt so much-" Isaac began to speak, his eyes dazed and misty, as if he wasn't quite sure where he was, Newtonia grabbed him by half of his broken mask and pulled him up._

" _Oh, do your arms hurt? Boo hoo! Do the damn combo! Or do you want us all to die?" Newtonia shouted in Isaac's face. Almost instantly, Lazarus saw the fire reignite in Isaac's eyes as he shoved Newtonia aside with his good hand, reaching out with his bruised arm up into the sky._

 _Above, Lazarus could see the Hero recovering as he hit the peak of his arc, the cloth around his head expanding in the cold air as he seemingly prepared to come back down on them with a vengeance. Isaac had other ideas._

 _With a agonizing cry, Isaac closed his hand again. Instantly, the Hero vanished from the sky, propelled towards the ground with such speed that in the time it took Lazarus to look back down at the ground, the Hero had already hit it. The impact caused dust to fly into the air, once again obscuring the already limited vision the weather provided._

 _Isaac lowered his hand, clutching at his now entirely black and blue arm with his other hand, his eyes were focused and alert._

" _Masks! Scatter!" Isaac called, the three of them turned as one, booking it away from the impact point. However, Lazarus heard something from the impact, and without thinking, threw his body out to the side to put himself between his siblings and the Hero behind them._

 _As soon as he did, the hero's cloth flew from the impact and wrapped itself around Newtonia's leg if Lazarus's own wasn't in the way. Instantly, Lazarus was on his chest, the breath knocked out of him as he was dragged backwards._

" _Lich!" Newtonia called over her shoulder, freezing momentarily. Without thinking, Lazarus pulled his cube from his pouch and threw it along the ground, wincing at each time it bounced before resting a few inches away from her foot. Newtonia grabbed it and nodded, grabbing Isaac by the arm and dragging him forward with her._

" _Brother no!" Isaac declared, drunkenly stumbling away as Newtonia pulled him, clearly not in his right mind from spreading himself so thin. Instantly, Lazarus turned onto his back, just in time to see the Hero rising from the crater, his face dark and serious._

" _What's the matter hero? Little under the weather by getting outsmarted by a bunch of 'kids', huh?" Lazarus couldn't help but smile, in truth, simply trying to buy his siblings a little more time to escape, the hero grunted._

" _I'll get them later. You did not escape." The Hero asserted. Lazarus looked the other man over, even after their most powerful combo move, the Hero looked at best lightly injured. Lazarus felt a shiver go down his spine, he couldn't imagine what that fight would have been like without his siblings with him._

" _What's your name, hero?" Lazarus asked, tilting his head with a fake grin. In truth, he was just providing a cover to reach into his hidden back holster for his 'last resort'. The Hero frowned._

" _Erasurehead. If you think you're going to be able to get me with that blade your reaching for, you are very mistaken." Erasurehead spoke without hesitation, easily seeing through Lazarus's ruse, though not entirely._

" _I know I won't be able to hit you." Lazarus chuckled before pulling out the knife, and in the instant Erasure moved to defend and disarm him, Lazarus drew the blade across his own throat._

 _Lazarus gave Erasurehead credit, he didn't hesitate an instant further, kicking the knife away from Lazarus and wrapping his cloth around Lazarus's wounded throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding, however, Lazarus's already beaten body as well as the growing distance between him and his cube finally caught up to him as his body failed._

 _The last thing Lazarus saw was the Hero take off his goggles as he felt Lazarus began to slip into death. Erasurehead's eyes were filled to the brim with a mix of defeat and confused anger. Eyes that would burn their way into his memory for weeks after the event. Lazarus closed his eyes and spoke, forcing an unearthly clairity into his voice._

" _We'll meet again Erasurehead, and next time, you won't get the jump on me…until next time."_

 _And then, Lazarus died._

* * *

Lazarus froze, his memory fully restored as he remained holding onto Aizawa's hand for an almost uncomfortable amount of time. Suddenly he released and backed away from the pro hero.

"ERA- oh, ha! Erasurehead, hey, I'm a big fan! I love your uh, American work." Lazarus laughed nervously as he took another step away, bumping into Hanta who had circled behind him.

"Dude, I shouldn't need to tell you it's rude to walk away from a conversation." Hanta muttered in his ear and he pushed him back towards Aizawa, who was blankly staring back at him. Lazarus began to sweat, it had been nearly two years, did the pro still even remember it?

"I haven't done any 'American work' and I'm not the type of hero to have a fan club." Aizawa coldly replied, his eyes scanning Lazarus for something Lazarus couldn't read. He couldn't tell if it was his own behaviour prompting the scepticism, or was it Aizawa remembering something.

"You- you sure? Haha, well I thought I must have seen you somewhere…" Lazarus scratched the back of his head and continued to laugh slightly too loud for what the situation actually called for. Hanta tried to join in to support him, but quickly tapped out when Aizawa's eyes flickered to him for a second before returning to Lazarus.

"I have been to America before, but on highly private, highly sensitive work, only a few people ever knew I went there…" Aizawa's eyes narrowed, Lazarus gulped.

"Where in America are you from that you would have seen me?" Aizawa's question freezes the blood in his veins, Lazarus opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Lazarus saw two answers before him, one, tell the truth, which was the easiest to do, but also risked jogging Aizawa's currently incompleat mind. Lazarus decided to go with option B.

"I don't know." Lazarus spoke with such certainty that he even surprised himself alongside Hanta and Aizawa.

"You don't know where you're from?" Aizawa asked, clearly now questioning Lazarus's sanity instead of his origins, which had its own pros and cons.

"No, well, actually, yes, I do know where I'm from, but no. I mean I lied, I have no idea who you are or where the hell you've been, I was just trying to net some free brownie points by recognizing you.

"Then how did you know I went to America on hero business?" Aizawa asked, his even tone lifting slightly, showing some genuine curiosity, Lazarus felt the same genuine curiosity inside himself as he wondered what the hell the next few words out of his mouth would be.

"I didn't. I took a wild guess and you proved me right. It wasn't too much a shot in the dark to think that any pro worth his salt has been to America at some point, right?" Lazarus reasoned, impressing himself with his constant stream of crap coming out of his mouth at once. Aizawa leaned back slightly, thinking on Lazarus's words. Lazarus saw his opportunity to get out of the situation.

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Aizawa sensei, but I've gotta skedaddle, so, until next time!" Lazarus smiled as he turned grabbing Hanta by the shoulder and pushing him along. Lazarus froze when he heard Aizawa mumble from behind him.

"...until next time?" Aizawa's voice was low, but Lazarus still heard it, his blood running cold at his own words being reflected back at him. He turned over his shoulder and smiled. Aizawa was not smiling back.

"There's something off about you, Poe-kun, was it? Something about your reaction to me has been very irrational. I'll be keeping my eye on you. Have a good day. Get some rest." Aizawa switched from bored, to threatening, to teacher with such rapid speed, Lazarus could barely register all three comments before Aizawa walked away, leaving the two of them alone in the hallway.

Hanta looked over his own shoulder, inspecting Lazarus's stressed face with a tired emptiness in his eyes.

"A Lich thing?" Hanta asked, already knowing fully well what the answer was.

"Yeah, Lich thing, sorry." Lazarus mumbled, not meeting Hanta's eyes, the other boy sighed.

"Alright, I'll drop it, but you owe me an explanation later." Hanta readjusted his bag strap and began to walk back to the stairs, Lazarus quickly stumbled to keep up, smiling with what he hoped was earnesty.

"You're the best friend a guy could ask for, Hanta." Lazarus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, who simply deflated at the gesture, looking away.

"Too good. I swear Lazarus, you may the one who comes back, but you're going to put me into an early grave. Sometimes I wonder if I'm your friend or just your get out of jail free card." Hanta mumbled, clearly half-joking, but something struck a nerve inside Lazarus, a very private nerve. He recoiled his hand from Hanta's shoulder, biting his cheek as he slowed down slightly, feeling his blood run cold.

"You coming, Lazarus?" Hanta called out, turning around to face him with a thumb pointing over his shoulder to the stairway down, Lazarus still couldn't meet his eyes, a swell of emotions he didn't want to deal with surfacing.

"Y-yeah, uh, I think I'm going to take a look around this floor, actually, get use to it, you know?" Lazarus turned away, pretending to inspect the fire-escape map on the wall beside him, he could feel Hanta's eyes on his back.

"I thought we were going to walk to the station together?" Lazarus noted the disappointment in Hanta's voice, and as much as he wanted to catch up more on the day, a sudden guilt overpowered all his other feelings.

"Yeah, sorry! I just want to take a look around, I promise, tomorrow for sure. I'm not this flaky normally, most of the time!" Lazarus forced a little cheer into his voice, but his heart wasn't into it. Hanta picked up on it instantly.

"Did...did I say something?" Hanta's face dropped, and finally, Lazarus overcame his sudden guilt to meet his friends eyes, managing a smile. Even if he didn't feel it.

"You didn't say anything untruthful…" Lazarus whispered, his voice meek and more then a little defeated.

"What?" Hanta asked, cuping a hand over his ear and taking a step towards Lazarus.

"I said, 'of course not you stupid tapehead!' get outta here! Obviously we're cool! I'm just a little worried about getting lost. I have enough problems doing well in school that being late is not a problem I need!" Lazarus yet again impressed himself with the quality of his lie. Hanta seemed to buy it too, releaf washing over his features.

"Okay! Cool! No problem Lazarus, you have a good day, alright bro?" Hanta tried to lift the mood, finger gun-mocking Lazarus as he walked off. Lazarus leaned against the wall and waved him off, his heart still not quite fully committed.

Hanta hesitated as he got to the end of the hall, clearly still sensing something off about Lazarus's behavior. Lazarus watched Hanta look both ways nervously before calling back.

"Hey uh, you know...Love you! Haha! Ha...hah.." Hanta immediately looked around, hoping that no one saw the awkward declaration. Lazarus couldn't help but finally lose it, his emotions put aside as he laughed.

"Say it loud and proud or not at all, 'I love you Hanta Sero, my dear and loving brother-from-another-mother!' like that!" Lazarus cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, not quite at the top of his lungs, but louder then Hanta was probably hoping.

"Ehhahahhaaa!" Hanta made a guttural sound, looking around more rapidly for any signs of life, thankfully, the hallways was still empty. Finally, Hanta took a deep breath, and giving Lazarus one last smile, slipped down the stairs and out of view.

Lazarus kept his smile until Hanta got out of view, before it finally fell, dragging his shoulders down with it as his whole body slid down the wall till he sat on his behind, his knees against his chest.

Lazarus looked out the glass on the other side of the hall, he noticed one of the panels had been taken out for repair, and a crude wooden plank had been placed midway up the empty space, while it's intention clearly was to stop students from accidentally falling to their death, it also served the purpose of blocking out the sun, leading to a dark shadow to fall across Lazarus's face. He let out a sigh. Lamenting on his thoughts.

"...just like a get out of jail free card...yeah...yeah that's what I do...that's who I am...I am...so sorry Hanta…" Lazarus mumbled to himself as he pressed his knees in tighter to his body, letting his mind yet again be ruled by his emotions as he drowned in his self pity.

"I'm saying Deku! I heard someone screaming 'I love you from down here!" A bubbly feminine voice drifted down the hall, instantly shocking Lazarus out of his party of one. Rising to his feet, he ran a hand through his hair out of habit, brushing himself off as he head voices grow closer from around the corner.

"There should be no yelling in the halls! I will make sure they know it is against school policy to shout unnecarilly in the hallways, the academic environment of this school must be preserved!" A loud and firm male voice seemingly replied, at a comically loud volume itself.

"Don't you end up shouting a lot in the hallways though, Ilda-kun?" The female voice replied, identifying the other voice as Ilda.

"Do I? I have always simply considered my voice to be at an appropriate volume to make myself heard! If it is in fact too loud, I will work to considerably lower my volume moving forward." As the voices drew even closer, it almost didn't offset the ridiculous quieting of Ilda's voice with each passing second. As if Ilda was some kinda robot and someone was gradually turning down his volume knob.

As the voices finally turned the corner, and Lazarus had a face to put to a voice, he saw the girl first. She had shoulder length brown hair and wore a big smile (which Lazarus assumed was a regular feature of the bubbly-sounding girl).

The taller boy, Ilda, he assumed, had short black hair and a pair of glasses. His face seemed almost robotically set and serious. He immediately reminded Lazarus of a somewhat Japanese verison of Isaac, which Lazarus wasn't sure if he was happy about or not.

As the two rounded the corner and faced him, they both blinked in surprise at actually finding someone in the empty hall, however, before Lazarus could introduce himself, a third figure stepped out from between the other two, a mess of green hair immediately drawing Lazarus's eyes as he felt a rush of terror unlike anything he had ever felt before.

"AH! THE WEIRD GUY FROM THE QUIRK REGISTRATION LINEUP!" Izuku screamed.

"AH! THE SWEET SWEET SMILING PRINCE!" Lazarus screamed back.


	15. Failing and Falling

**BenchBeYolking here! With a Valentines day update for everyone's most-loved heartless hero!**

 **(Yeah I know I'm a day late for regular updates! Sorry!)**

 **Someone pointed out to me the fact that this story is 100,000+ words long, and I still haven't hit chapter 12 in the Manga. Which is very valid. I am very slow with my plot progression! Sorry again everyone for that! Good news though! After this chapter, the plot can finally start moving faster! Maybe! If I don't get sidetracked with more asides!**

 **As always, I love all of you and hope you all enjoy the chapter! Feel free to leave a review! I read em! And try to reply if people ask questions! Thanks all!**

 **Without further ado, I'll let the story speak for itself...**

* * *

Lazarus stood, frozen in abject terror at something worse than death itself, a confrontation with a former social faux pas.

Izuku Midoriya, for his part was frozen in equal terror, but obviously going through a very different thought process then Lazarus was. Lazarus darted his eyes across the hallway, taking in everything and anything he could use to avoid having to deal with this situation. Suddenly, he saw his escape route.

"Ah, you know Midoriya-kun? There is no need to be frightened! I am-" The boy, Ilda, began speaking, but Lazarus had already decided and committed fully to his plan.

"Death before social dishonour!" Lazarus cried, taking two long strides before leaping up into the air. Tucking his legs into his chest. He watched with passive apathy as the three student's shocked expressions morph into terror as he passed through the glass-less window and out into the open air.

"NO! I'M SORRY FOR CALLING YOU WEIRD!" Izuku shouted, running towards the window, even though Lazarus was already far past saving.

"Wait! You have so much to live for!" The girl cried, reaching out in panic, again, quite pointlessly because of how far Lazarus was already gone.

Lazarus said nothing, maintaining his neutral expression as the students left his view and he descended into free-fall. Their faces fading quickly.

"That could have gone better." Lazarus mumbled, the wind rushing by his ears as he untucked himself from his position, spreading his arms and legs to slightly slow his fall as crossed his legs lazily and placed two hands behind his head.

"Damn, I'm out of regenerations too, guess I'll be stuck in my cube all night in the UA courtyard, honestly, probably still safer then my place. At least I'll have a good nap." Lazarus sighed as he looked over his shoulder, he figured he had another ten seconds or so, he had underestimated how far up he was and how much of an updraft he had jumped into.

Lazarus reflected, momentarily, on the fact that this event would probably cause a little bit of a fuss, the only person who really 'knew' about his power was Hanta and the nurse. Hanta was probably already off campus, and if they couldn't find his cube, then the nurse wouldn't realise it was him. The students would most likely report a suicided, they'd shut down the school, be unable to find his body (obviously) and everyone would throw a fit until he could regenerate the next day and explain.

Without warning, Lazarus felt something connect with his back and head, but instead of instantly losing concousneses and finding himself in the nothingness, instead he felt his neck be forced up as it was cradled in the nook of someone's arm. Lazarus's eyes flickered up to see a massive form of a man that had caught him, a tower of a man that could only be one person; All Might.

The hero didn't say a word as he carried Lazarus up in an arc, before coming down with a seismic slam onto the ground, shaking the earth around them. Lazarus blinked as the dust obscured his vision for a moment before it cleared, revealing that they had traveled a fair distance from the school, and the two of them were alone in an isolated area of the campus.

All Might said nothing, the large, seemingly invincible hero, wearing a sharp looking business suit, was huffing heavily, seemingly focused entirely on sucking air in and out of his lungs, Lazarus blinked.

"Huh. Well. I was fully expecting to die, this is... unexpectant." Lazarus awkwardly clasped his hands together rocking back and forth on his feet, unsure on how exactly to continue the conversation. In what felt like a quarter of a second, All Might's massive arms were clasping Lazarus on his shoulders.

"Lazarus! I understand that high school can be a troubling time, and on the first day, many struggles can make you believe you don't belong. But I assure you! There are always options! Tutoring! Counselling! Private lessons! Many people will miss you when you die! Taking your life isn't the way!" All Might's smiling form looked incredibly troubled, his massive smile offset by the droplets of stress dotting his brow.

"Whoah! Slow down." Lazarus held up a hand, shaking All Might's surprisingly light grip as he stepped away. Narrowing his eyes as he did something he rarely did, notice something.

"What is it?" All Might asked, giving Lazarus a careful distance.

"How do you know my name?" Lazarus asked, squinting at the pro hero, unsure at how, or why, All Might knew his name. He knew the hero was 'good' but if he just 'happened' to know the name of every student on campus, that was a little much, even for Lazarus.

All Might froze, his smile still unmoving as more beads of sweat formed on his brow. Lazarus tightened his hand into a fist and brought it down into his open palm, a lightbulb finally going off in his head.

"You...haha...probably heard about me from your assistant, right?" Lazarus suddenly felt very self conscious, how much had Toshinori said about him? All Might visibly relaxed.

"Yes! Toshinori-san told me about you, he did do that! That's how I know your name!" All Might put a hand to his head and laughed, but Lazarus picked up on a nervous tint to it, did he not want people knowing that he employed Toshinori? Then again, Lazarus remembered the sickly man and decided that to be fair, All Might probably had an image to look after.

"Right, well uh, thanks for the lift, Mr. All Might sir, but uh, you know, I gotta get going, have a good evening!" Lazarus waved curtly and turned to leave, only to find in a blink, All Might was somehow in front of him again.

"Wait! I can't let you leave! We still have to address the next step going-" All Might stopped, suddenly letting out a massive, earth-shaking cough that seemed to rob him of breath, Lazarus could only watch the pro battle against his own lungs for what felt like half a minute.

"You alright, All Might?" Lazarus asked with an unsure smile, he just wanted to go home, but he also didn't want the symbol of peace to drop dead right in front of him.

"Fine! Just a...common cold!" All Might waved his concern away, recomposing himself, Lazarus turned to move, but once again, All Might stepped in front of him.

"Look! No one is upset at you, I don't know you that well Lazarus, but I want to help-" All Might began to go off on what to Lazarus assumed to be a well rehearsed tangent. Sighing heavily, Lazarus interjected.

"All Might you've got the wrong idea, this isn't my first time trying to, you know, off myself." Lazarus spoke, rolling his wrist, which cracked audibly with each rotation. All Might seemed more concerned then before.

"Okay! Okay! Uh, but that's no reason to keep...trying! You've made it into hero school now, you're closer to your dreams!" All Might seemed to be struggling, Lazarus still couldn't quite understand why.

"It's every reason to keep trying, I'm going to die anyway, sometimes self inflicted death is less painful then waiting to expire naturally.." As Lazarus looked up, All Might's face was starting to show less hope and more fear, and all the pieces clicked into place for Lazarus.

"Oh! Duh! Sorry, uh, I never explained my thing, I suppose, um, hold on, let me grab something…and-" Lazarus reached back for his cube, glancing at All Might out of the corner of his eye, but before he could reach his heart, something caught his eye.

"Ah hah! I knew it!" Lazarus snapped his fingers and pointed at All Might, who seemed suddenly taken aback looking down at himself in an attempt to see what Lazarus was pointing at. Lazarus could help but smile.

"I knew your overdramatics were part special effects! Hah...not to ruin the moment, but uh, your 'smoke screen' is leaking." Lazarus coyly remarked, leaning to see the growing cloud of smoke coming out of All Might's back, probably from some kind of hidden fog machine attached to his legs or something.

All Might froze, concern clear on his voice, Lazarus knew he was probably shocked and horrified to have one of his secrets revealed. Before Lazarus could say anything else, All Might let out another cough, a drop of blood falling down his lip.

"All Might. You're bleeding." Lazarus felt like an idiot for stating the obvious, but All Might stood, stunned, clearly trying to figure out what to do, the unbreakable pro hero suddenly looking unsure. Lazarus stared back as smoke began to fill the clearing with increasing speed. After a delay, Lazarus's response finally knocked All Might out of his stupor.

"So I am." All Might responded, his voice cool and even as he looked down at his wrist, pulling back his suit to reveal and expensive looking watch, the silence continued. Suddenly, Lazarus's own delayed mind fired off.

"...Oh god you're bleeding! Uh! Stay here! I'll get the nurse! Don't move!" Lazarus turned and ran, his legs pounding the earth as he bolted away from All Might, taking a shortcut by throwing himself through a prickly bush in his scramble, ignoring the cuts on his body as he moved, before stopping suddenly.

"Crap! This is the wrong way!" Lazarus groaned at his own incompetence, turning quickly and bolting back through the same prickly bush, not having the time or patience to try and go around it.

As he broke through the other side, the smoke had mostly cleared from the area. Lazarus glanced around, looking for All Might, but couldn't see him anymore, the pro hero was gone without a trace.

A sudden, sickly cough caught Lazarus off guard, followed by profuse english swearing.

"Who's there? All Might?" Lazarus turned, bending his elbows in preparation for a fighting stance.

At his request, a thin hand wrapped itself around a tree near the original source of the smoke as Toshinori poked his head from around the corner, smiling awkwardly.

"Ah! Young Lazarus! It's uh, funny! Seeing you here!" Toshinori stepped out from behind the tree, wearing a comically loose suit. Lazarus assumed it had something to do with the sick man's quirk. Toshinori leaned against the tree as he coughed again, using his hand to wave away the smoke around his head. Lazarus continued to look around quizzically.

"Oh, hello! Toshi- uh, Yagi-san! Not that I'm not happy to see you again, but uh, have you seen your boss around?" Lazarus tried not to rudely ignore the sickly man as he continued to peer around for the injured pro.

"Oh! All Might! He uh, I just saw him, he said if I saw you, to tell you he went to the nurse himself, and he'll be alright, All Might! Haha!" Toshinori laughed forcefully, clapping his hands together as he walked towards Lazarus, before placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Well, that's good news, at least, I was worried for as second there! I thought he might have hurt himself trying to catch me! That would have made me feel terrible!" Lazarus quipped happily, sensing some tension in the other man's grip on his shoulder. Lazarus rolled his shoulder lazilly in response, smiling at Toshinori.

"He'll be fine! Uh, not to inconvenience you, young Lazarus; But, would you mind not telling anyone about All Might's...sickness, it's nothing dangerous, but I...uh, he doesn't want any rumors popping up, you know?" Tohsinori's voice was strained, but genuine, Lazarus smiled and laughed.

"Ah it's fine, I'll take it to my grave, it'll be buried six feet under before you know it!" Lazarus tapped his heels together standing up on his toes to rise up. Weirdly enough, Toshinori's face seemed to be stuck half way between scared and relieved.

"Hah! No reason to be so morbid! Young Lazarus! Please! Uh, speaking of which, what- what were you and All Might talking about before? Just out of curiosity! I-I feel a connection to you Lazarus, and I'm here to help, if you need anything." Toshinori seemed very distressed. Lazarus smiled and sighed, he didn't need to worry All Might's already clearly overworked assistant any more then All Might probably did, no reason to divulge any personal problems problems onto him.

"Hm? Well, since you weren't here you wouldn't know. It was nothing important! Hey, I've actually got places to be across town! Though, if you see All Might, let him know that I appreciate what he did, but it was a waste of his precious energy, since it's not like I'm going to stop doing stuff like that. Uh, He'll know what I'm talking about." Lazarus tried to phrase the statement in a way that wouldn't tip Toshinori off on what had happened.

Lazarus smiled at his own brilliant strategy, obviously, afterwards, Toshinori would go tell All Might in the nurse's office, and before All Might could freak out, Recovery Girl would recognize his name and explain his 'unique' quirk. Two birds with one stone!

As Lazarus snapped out of his own mind, he noticed that Toshinori looked even more sickly than normal, an impressive feat for the already corpse-reminiscent man. Toshinori's mouth opened and closed rapidly, before the man closed his mouth completely and made a very inhuman sound.

Finally, Lazarus shook Toshinori's hand from his shoulder, giving the other man a double thumbs up as he turned around to leave.

Lazarus got about four steps forward before a pair of large hands grabbed him by the shoulder and picked hip up off the ground. Lazarus blinked several times as he was turned around and confronted with the owner of the hands. All Might stood before him again, the smoke still lingered around him.

"Young Lazarus! Please! Don't do anything you'll regret!" All Might cried, coughing several times as he struggled to speak. Lazarus didn't quite know how to feel.

"Wait, why aren't you with the nurse? You were…" Lazarus tried to speak, only for All Might to shake him lightly, silencing him.

"I came back! Because I care about you! And I want to help you!" At All Might's pleading, Lazarus suddenly felt horrible. All Might really did care about everyone as much as he said he did, even some random student like Lazarus. Yet before Lazarus could pull out his cube and show All Might his cube, a second thought hit him.

"Wait, where'd Toshinori go?" Lazarus tried to peer around All Might for the smaller man, but even with the smoke obscuring his view, he could tell that the sickly man had vanished.

"That's not important!" All Might coughed, shaking Lazarus slightly harder. Lazarus shook his own head, blinking away his dizziness as he finally managed to reach back and grab his cube, holding it up in front of All Might's face, finally causing the babbling hero to go silent.

"Observe." Lazarus commanded as he sent his will to his cube, instantly, the cube turned transparent, and Lazarus's beating heart began to pump from within it. All Might's expression was as far as Lazarus was concerned, priceless.

"What!" All Might yelled in english, dropping Lazarus in confusion, Lazarus hit the ground and took the opportunity to pull back his shirt and press the cube against his chest, sinking it back into its cavity.

"Behold, my heart. As long as it isn't destroyed, my body will regenerate. That's what I meant. As long as my cube survives, I really don't care if I fall off a few buildings every now and again. I'm not trying to kill myself for good! I love life too much to do that." Lazarus sighed as he felt energy pulse through his body, the extra boost of energy from his chest feeling warm and welcome. All Might continued to stare blankly.

"Oh...oh!" All Might finally seemed to relax, his entire body deflating slightly as his eyes finally lost their terrified glint, replaced instead by what Lazarus could only describe as heavy embarrassment.

"If you had given me the chance to explain, I could have solved this issue much quicker! But still, I am sorry for worrying you, I'm bad with words and even worse with explaining things. Sorry, All Might." Lazarus apologize, knowing fully well he had to accept responsibility for his own inability to communicate

All Might opened his mouth to respond, before another wave of steam began to pour off of him, Lazarus chuckled.

"Wow, that smoke machine must be high-quality to produce that much." Lazarus rolled his eyes, but All Might's own eyes widened as he suddenly shouted.

"Lazarus! What's that behind you!" All Might declared loudly. Lazarus didn't turn at first, instead quizzically looking at the suddenly shocked pro. How gullible did All Might think he was? Lazarus finally sighed, turning around slowly until his back was fully to All Might. The only thing Lazarus saw was his school bag on the ground.

"Yep, just my bag." Lazarus confirmed, turning back around to see All Might was yet again gone, disappeared completely, except for a thin trail of blood that led into the bush.

"Should have seen that coming." Lazarus thrust his hands into his pockets, following the blood trail to the bush, pushing through it to the other side. Where Toshinori sat on the ground, seemingly trying to cough up a lung.

"Ah, that's where you went Toshinori-, wait, damn it! Yagi-san...whatever, All Might came this way, where did he go?" Lazarus looked around, finally seeing the blood trail again, which ended directly under Toshinori.

"Lazarus! Hah! All Might...he's uh...gone...now...haha..." Toshinori meekly said in between coughs, blood dripping down his chin, adding to the trail directly beneath him.

Lazarus knew he wasn't the smartest boy alive, but in that moment, his brain was firing on all cylinders. Every interaction with Toshinori suddenly shifted to form a new picture. Why would All Might employ someone like Toshinori? Why was Toshinori and All Might seemingly never in the same place? Why was Toshinori's employment such an unknown thing? What was up with the smokescreen? Why did they both have the same cough? All these questions drew Lazarus to a single conclusion.

"Come on, how dumb do you think I am?" Lazarus looked down on Toshinori with a smirk, the answer was so obvious, and Lazarus felt like an idiot for not putting it together sooner. Toshinori almost seemed to shrink before him.

"What- what are you talking about young Lazarus?" Toshinori smiled, but Lazarus could see that he knew the game was up.

"Funny, All Might called me the same thing…" Lazarus took a little pleasure in seeing the defeat in Toshinori's eyes as the sickly man. Toshinori stood.

"Very well, Lazarus, I suppose I stretched myself too thin, and you are more clever than I gave you credit for. I pegged you as unable to put the pieces together. I am sorry for that." As Toshinori spoke, Lazarus was a little taken aback by the other man's calmness and authority, this wasn't a side of Toshinori Lazarus had seen in either of his interactions with the man, which only further cemented his theory.

"If it makes you feel any better, I have no intention of telling anyone, wouldn't want to cause a riot, right? The real Mr. Symbol of Peace?" Lazarus grinned, winking playfully as he snapped his fingers and pointed at Toshinori, who sighed dramatically, looking up at the sky as the wind picked up, causing his hair to wave in the breeze.

"It's true...young Lazarus," Toshinor took a step forward and held out a clenched hand, his blue eyes glimmering as he took a stance of power. "I am All Might-" Toshinori began, and Lazarus stepped forward, knowing exactly where the other man was going.

"-'s body double! Hah! I can't believe it!" Lazarus finished Toshinori sentence. Toshinori froze, blinking several times after being cut off.

"...I'm sorry?" Toshinori asked, the authority draining out of his voice, replaced by confusion. Lazarus didn't let the other man's attempt to throw him off get to him.

"I should have seen it sooner! Duh, the hair, the eyes, the outfits that are too big for you? With a little more muscles, you'd be All Might's splitting image, which is exactly what you are!" Lazarus slammed a fist into his palm, keeping his finger pointed. Toshinori listened silently.

"Your quirk is obviously some kind of temporary bulking, with all those extra muscles a little bit of grooming, and putting some authority in your voice, your own mother probably wouldn't be able to tell you apart from the symbol of peace. You can even do little tricks, like that jump you did to catch me when I fell. I mean, no offense, but I was so awestruck I hadn't even thought of the fact that All Might is way faster than you were when you caught me!" Lazarus listed off his thoughts, Toshinori had sat down again, his jaw hanging open, clearly struck silent by Lazarus's brilliant deductions.

"Though, uh, your...sickness, means that you can't hold the form forever, but you can probably keep it a lot longer if you're just standing still or talking. Hence the smoke machine rig you're wearing that you kept using. I bet after All Might resolves an innocent, you have some kinda code to tag-in, All Might goes off to relax or something, and you come in and deal with the media in his place! Then, when you need to duck, BAM! Smoke screen and blend into the crowd! That's how he manages to be 'everywhere at once!' god, it's so obvious I don't know how no one thought of it before!" Lazarus smacked his own head and laughed, feeling a little stupid himself for never having come up with the theory before. Toshinori's mouth was a straight line, his eye's introflection and empty. Lazarus finally stopped talking, watching Toshinori process having his secret be revealed by Lazarus.

"Oh, oh...Young Lazarus…" Toshinori began, closing his mouth as he looked up at Lazarus, clearly seeing Lazarus's pleased expression and feeling a little intimidated. Toshinori raised a fist to his mouth, contemplating for a moment further.

"Yes..?" Lazarus answered, waiting for Toshinori's response, finally Toshinori looked up, a glint in his eye that Lazarus couldn't quite place.

"You...are...you, got me," Toshinori threw his hands up slowly, standing at his full height with an apologetic smile. Lazarus let out a cheer at the admission of defeat. Lazarus leaped up, clicking his heels together. Finally, something going right for him today.

"Don't you worry 'All Might', hah! I won't tell I soul, I'm serious when I mean I'll take it to my grave and beyond!" Lazarus felt energy course though his body, and it wasn't just his cube pumping energy through his body.

"Thank you, young Lazarus, I know I can trust you. You don't seem the type to give up secrets freely." Toshinori laughed, though there was something hidden behind it yet again that Lazarus couldn't quite peg. A dark part of his gut wanted to peg it as pity, but he shut it down.

'This is my win.' He thought to himself, 'I need this win today.'

"Hey, for real. Toshinori- damn it, sorry." Lazarus caught himself again, Toshinori simply laughed.

"If it's that much of a struggle for you Lazarus, go for it. I don't mind." Toshinori gave him the permission he needed and Lazarus let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, cool, Toshinori; if you need anything, anything at all. Talk to me." Lazarus dropped the humor from his voice, taking on his own serious tone. Toshinori yet again seemed shocked, most likely at Lazarus's change.

"What do you-" Toshinori began, Lazarus smiled, placing a hand on his hip as he tilted his head, using his other hand to push his hair off his forehead.

"I imagine it's a thankless job, no one even knows what you do, even though you put it a lot of hours to do your part keeping society running, no one ever gives you the credit. Someone once told me, it's a bad world to be a good person in. I took those words to heart, even if I took the person who said them for granted." Lazarus held out his hand to Toshinori, an honest offering.

"It's a bad world to be a good person, and I honestly don't know if I'm a good person anymore, but I sure as hell want to help those good people keep being them. So...if you need anything, I'm not sure what help a first-year hero student would be, but damn it, I'll be there. No matter what. On my life." Lazarus held his hand out, and Toshinori looked at it, his expression stunned. Before the other man's visage melted into a warm smile.

"Thank you, truely, thank you Lazarus...your words tell me everything I need to know about what kind of a person you really are. You will be a great hero one day Lazarus, and I can't wait to see that day come." Toshinori finished, taking Lazarus's hand and shaking it vigorously. Lazarus felt his emotions bubble up, finally, something other then anger overtaking him.

Without thinking, he pulled the sickly man in for a hug, careful not to squeeze the frail man too hard. Toshinori didn't even hesitate, laughing lightly before wrapping his arms around Lazarus.

"Though perhaps you should leave mysteries for other heroes in the future…" Toshinori mumbled, Lazarus felt his ears perk.

"What?" Lazarus questioned, feeling his emotion suppression for a moment out of raw confusion. Toshinori stiffened.

"Uh! You seem to be great at them! I mean, want to give other hero...students...a chance to sharpen their detective skills?" Toshinori babbled, Lazarus felt his anxiety melt away.

"Hah! Awww! You give me too much credit! Come-here!" Lazarus hugged the other man a little tighter, holding the hug for a few moments longer before releasing the other man, turning around and walking away from the bush to pick up his bag.

"I'm...going to head home for the day, I imagine you've got places to be yourself, Toshinori?" Lazarus turned and smiled, which Toshinori met with one of his own.

"Yes! I've actually got to go talk to uh...All Might…" Toshinori spoke, slowing down at the end, as if he wasn't use to talking about what he really did. Lazarus laughed.

"Good luck! Have a good one! Oh, and if any students come running down here because they saw me throw myself off the building, do me a favor and don't tell em about my powers all right? I gotta keep a few secrets, especially from the other class! I figure you owe me that much after all the secrets I'm keeping on your behalf!" Lazarus joked as he walked away, after a moment, Toshinori coughed.

"Wait! What am I supposed to say happened to you afterwards?" Toshinori's voice grew fainter as Lazarus continued on.

"I don't know! All Might took me to a mental institution or something! Improvise! All Might's a real entertainer, I'm sure you were body doubling at least some of those times!" Lazarus finally found a dirt path, leading back to the front of UA. Lazarus began following it.

"Quick! He must have landed over here!" A paniced male voice called out from in the forest, Lazarus pegged it as Izuku's. Lazarus smiled.

"Sorry Toshinori...good luck, for real." Lazarus winced as he picked up his pace, getting further away from the scene.

* * *

Lazarus slammed the door behind him, his now clean apartment greeting him. Lazarus flipped open his phone, looking at his inbox filled with old messages. Nothing new. Cracking his neck, Lazarus grabbed an instant dinner from the fridge and stuck it in the microwave, walking over to the countertop, he plugged his phone in. He placed his phone on it's side and opened his radio app.

His watch beeped, alerting him to the ending of the day. After UA, Lazarus had taken the day to head to the library and study, trying to get ahead on his reading, knowing fully well that he was already behind in comprehension. Why wasn't there a Hero-drama class or something he could use to raise his GPA? Shaking his head, Lazarus finally tapped on the station he was looking for.

"What is upppppppppppp liiiiiisteners! This is President Mic! With some new sounds to cleanse your ears after a long day!" President Mic's voice blasted across the room, Lazarus leaned back in his chair and smiled. He hadn't been a fan of the loud try-hard hero at first, but President Mic's friendliness, enthusiasm, and use of english all grew on Lazarus quite quickly. He was now a regular listener.

As the microwave went off, Lazarus quickly retrieved his meal, grabbing a plastic fork from the quarter-empty package beside the Microwave, peeling back the top of the meal, and quickly devouring the too-salty mash potatoes.

Lazarus found himself in a reflective mood, he imagined most people would find his current situation a little lonely, maybe even sad. But Lazarus enjoyed it greatly. He had always had a love of his own company, he liked other people, but other people were a lot of effort, a lot of upkeep, a lot of trouble. His own company wasn't like that. It was just him, the sound of his own voice echoing in his head, and the constant beating of his heart.

He looked down at his chest, seeing the cube resting underneath his T-shirt. How long had it been since he had just walked around with the cube in his chest? As soon as the thought hit him, he tore the cube from his chest, setting it on the table as the extra energy drained from his body, leaving him fatigued after the long day. He knew it was irrational to always remove his heart, but fear gripped him whenever he remembered when his power had first manifested. The blow that had cracked his cube in half, and the feeling that he was never going to come back again.

He protected himself from that, he kept the cube out of reach and out of sight, and that made him feel better. He could always hedge his bets, even if he was giving his life, he always had an out if he needed it.

President Mic blasting tunes through his apartment drew his attention as he began drumming his fingers along to the rhythm, getting lost in the jamming. Standing up, Lazarus quickly converted his plastic fork into a mic, poorly singing along to Japanese words he didn't quite know as he leaped around his kitchen, throwing his back against any object that could support it as he launched into a wicked air guitar solo.

As soon as the moment hit him, the song was over, and President Mic launched into a talk about heroic acts of the day on one of his nightly segments recapping the day. Lazarus was only half-listening, returning to his now slightly-colder food as he quickly scarfed it down. He discarded the empty tray and used fork. He quickly launched into his nightly stretching; touching his toes, rotating his shoulder, and lunging. He knew it wasn't a complete routine, but it kept his body loose enough, so he didn't bother changing it up.

Lazarus walked over to his phone, unplugging it and taking into his tiny bedroom, plugging it in again as he turned off the lights and changed into his Hero costume, laying down with the front of his shirt open. He finally closed his eyes, feeling the somewhat uncomfortable fabric dig into him as he shifted positions.

"I suppose I did choose protection over confort." Lazarus mumbled in the dark, as much as he wanted to sleep in something more appropriate, (like nothing at all), he knew he'd need his regeneration to reset with him wearing his actual combat apparel, or else there was no point in even having it.

Finally, Lazarus felt sleep begin to take him, and as he took one last deep breath, he was at peace.

* * *

Aizawa continued to flip through the files beside his desk, looking for a particular report from several years ago that had seemingly disappeared. He felt his impatience grow, he never misplaced files, but he had checked the proper section four times, and it was nowhere to be found.

The scene from earlier continued to play in his head, it had been forever since he had thought of his ill-fated trip to America, and more importantly, of the issues he had encountered; Villains in seemingly every shadow; corruptions everywhere he looked; and vigilantes, which were almost extinct in Japan, openly moving about the night. He had finished what he had set out to do and quickly returned, finding any urge to extend his stay irrational, the problems or America were for American heroes to sort out not him. Yet he had kept the file open, the masks of those two children that had somehow held him off long enough to escape, and the suicided of the one child that had simply turned to dust before him. Something drew him back to the file.

Letting out a grunt, he looked around the empty UA office, the faculty had gone home long before, he was use to being the only one in the office, but one odd detail caught his eye. The same service bot had passed through the room several times. It wasn't uncommon for them to come through every now and again on patrol, but this one had been hovering around for basically the entire time he had been here.

Aizawa almost said something, then scoffed and shook his head, the bots had at best 'basic' voice commands, he wouldn't get anywhere by speaking just anything to it.

"Bot, where is unresolved file 23-B-8?" He asked, hoping a bot had shuffled it away somewhere and would be able to lead him to it.

"Why Mr. Eraserhead, it's already been snuck off campus and put in an incinerator." The bot replied, a robotic, feminine voice, echoing around the empty room. Aizawa took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing.

"And who would you be? And of all the damage you could do, why take that one file?" Aizawa reached for his scarf, preparing to quickly disable the bot if need be. The bot laughed. It was just as mechanical.

"Well, you see Mr. Eraserhead, most of the time, I can just get into people's online accounts, Heroes are the worst at digital security, and get rid of offending files, but you're really old school. You keep physical copies, grandpa." The bot prattled on, slowly approaching Aizawa, as soon as it got close enough, Aizawa wrapped it in Capture tape and pinned it against the floor, locking it's limbs. It laughed again.

"Kinky." The bot spoke, before chucking again, Aizawa simply grimace, "Fine! Our organization is built around a foundation of trust, people help us, we help them. We just lost a very...active member because we failed to do a good enough job of holding our end of the bargain, this little event here was me...er, us, trying to make it up to said member. Make sure they don't have to worry about anything anymore. Leave us on good terms, no?" The bot's robotic voice droned on, and Aizawa closed his eyes, his hair deflating, he hadn't even noticed he had activated his quirk.

"And now you've won, I don't have the file and your organization gets to walk free. Clever." Aizawa waited, the bot stayed silent for a moment, before it spoke again.

"Don't feel too bad Mr. Eraserhead, Deep Well has bested many over the years, you're just the latest in a long line-" Aizawa cut off the robot with a snort.

"Deep Well, huh? Thanks for the clue, I have somewhere to start now, and I know my suspicions are founded. I won't drop this case until I find exactly what's going on. You've very irrationally put your 'former member' in more danger now then he ever would have been in before your little stunt." Aizawa finished, and the bot was totally silent, a moment passed between them.

"Shit." The bot spoke, before it went completely still, the bot shutting down beneath him.

Aizawa waited a moment further, before slamming his foot into the robot's head, caving it in and destroying it. A precaution. Aizawa walked over the robot to the side of the office, staring out the window as the clock struck midnight. He took out his phone and punched in a number, waiting as it rung. Quickly answering in rough english as he heard the other end pick up.

"I need a favor, give me everything you have on a group called Deep Well."


	16. Three Lives Remaining

**Okay brain, what are we doing, studying to get that out of the way so my anxiety isn't as high when I write, or writing first, to calm myself down and be more efficient when I write later?**

 **Lol neither. Rewatch the same youtube videos you seen 100 times.**

 **Relatable and understandable. Have a good day.**

 **BEEENCHBEEEEEYOLKING HERE. A week late, maybe. Shorter chapter then normal, you know it!**

 **Midterm prep has been a pain, sorry you all! I'm not going to make any promises I can't fufill about when the next chapter might come out, but know I am working on it! And thankfully, I have a feeling these next few chapters are going to be a real blast to write (and hopefully to read as well)**

 **As always, feel free to leave your thoughts as a review! I try and reply (when I can, and if I see something that warrants** **one, granted) and I take each one into careful consideration! Also, feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions or suggestions! Or you just want to yell at me! I don't care!**

 **Okay ya'll hope you enjoy this bridge chapter, T &T has been pretty all over the place, and I do apologize ****for it, even after 15 chapters I still haven't quite figured out if I want to have Lazarus 100% abandon the Cannon plot and go off and do his own thing (with the main plot involved as machinations in the background) or do a more traditional OC story WITH all the original stuff slotted in whenever it would make sense for Lazarus not to be involved.**

 **If you got any thoughts on my inability to make a strong choice and stick with it (heh, sorry), feel free to let me know in any of the ways listed above!**

 **Thank you all for sticking with me, I know I'm a little bit of a pain to deal with, but it means the world to me that you are all still sticking around for each new chapter! This ones for all of you awesome readers (new and old) other there! Plussss Ultra!**

 **Without further ado...I'll let the chapter, speak for itself...**

* * *

"Excuse me! Do you know anything about All Might teaching at UA?" The reporter screamed, startling Lazarus out of his internal running monologue as a camera was thrusted in his face. Out of instinct, Lazarus almost thrusted his hands in front of his eyes to shield himself from being recognized, before remembering that he didn't have to hide his identity in Japan.

"Excuse me?" Lazarus politely retorted, which he immediately regretted as more reporters seemed to appear out of thin air and surround him on all sides, microphones and cameras obscuring every inch of his vision.

"How is All Might as a teacher!"

"Is it true that his smile has already blinded four students?"

"Do you have anything to say about what kind of man the pro hero really is?"

Lazarus blinked as he was swarmed with questions from every angle, finally, he cleared his throat loudly enough to quiet the group, before smiling widely. He didn't mind the attention one bit.

"Well I haven't seen too much of All Might, seeing as I'm part of Class 1-B but…" Lazarus was cut off by a loud groan from every reporter around him.

"Ah great, it's another one of the useless ones. Lets go look for the important kids!" A female reporter shouted from somewhere in the group.

Within a few seconds, all the reporters had scurried away, leaving him standing completely alone.

"Screw all you too then!" Lazarus called out after the retreating reporters, making sure none of the cameras were facing him before throwing the middle finger at their backs. Adjusting his backpack strap before stomping past the gate and into the school.

"Oh! You managed to escape them too Lazarus!" Hanta called out, popping out from behind a tree as he quickly jogged over to him. Lazarus chuckled.

"More like they escaped me, guess they're only interested in you folks. Lucky." Lazarus smiled as Hanta shrugged, looking away.

"Yeah, lucky, sure." Hanta sighed, before giving Lazarus a steely glare.

"What?" Lazarus asked, knowing fully well what was about to happen.

"Did you try and throw yourself out the school window yesterday after I left?" Hanta's direct question startled Lazarus, (and to his humour, several general studies students who were walking within earshot suddenly looked very concerned).

"I plead the fifth!" Lazarus cried, speading his pace up slightly, Hanta quickly moved to catch up.

"I don't know what that means, but you did you little shit!" Hanta called out as he began to sprint, Lazarus laughed and sped up himself as the two of the weaved through the crowd, until Lazarus stopped, letting Hanta catch up and jump up onto his back, throwing Lazarus into an impromptu headlock.

"Oh dear~ I have been assaulted, oh what a cruel fate to have befall me at a hero school." Lazarus swooned as he easily carried Hanta on his back.

The two of them kept laughing as Lazarus piggybacked his friend into the school. Lazarus, even in his joy, couldn't shake a feeling from his gut. It was a dark feeling years of patrolling the streets had taught him. Something bad was coming.

* * *

"Japanese literature." Cementoss announced again, before speaking about what had been covered last class.

Lazarus looked to his left and right, the two other fourginers of class B had moved desks for this class, forming a group of three in the back corner. All three of them looked the same, their eyes empty as they attempted to comprehend the jiberish on the pages of their textbook.

"Study group?" Pony whispered, Lazarus nodded along with his new acquaintance, Hiryu, who was indeed from China. The three of them returned to looking at the book, hoping that some flash of inspiration would occur in at least one of them.

Nothing did.

* * *

"So wait, you're saying you'll let us kill you in training?" Kendo spoke in horror, Lazarus continued eating his rice.

"Hmhm." Lazarus mumbled through his mouthful of food.

"That seems...unethical." Tetsutetsu spoke, glancing around to see if anyone was watching them. Lazarus shrugged, he had decided to start eating at Kendo's table, considering that he wanted Hanta to have the chance to bond with his own classmates. Lazarus finally swallowed.

"Nothing unethical about it. I'm just saying, if any of you wanna test out your moves after school, you can always hit me up. Unless I'm running short on regenerations, you can beat me up all you want, I'm a tough nut to crack, don't feel pain, and more importantly, I cost a hell of a lot less then buying a training dummy you'll reduce to bits and pieces." Lazarus watched the other students at the table exchange glances.

"I'll take you up on that!" Neito smiled widely, "It'll be nice to have a chance to not hold back at all!" As Neito began to laugh, Kendo shot him a glare, silencing his mirth.

"Obviously, Lazarus, we appreciate the offer, but well…" Kendo trailed off, Lazarus looked at her impatiently.

"But what?" Lazarus finished, urging her for a response.

"But I'm sure I'd have some nightmares if I ended up crippling you and causing you to choke on your own blood, honestly." Kendo finished with a sigh and a shiver. Lazarus acknowledged the thought.

"Fair enough. Not going to force you into it, but you don't have to kill me, you know? Even if you just beat the crap out of me, I'll be fine for school the next day." Lazarus was about to launch into a story about his siblings, before the sharp sound of an alarm interrupted him.

"What?" Tetsutetsu quickly stood, the alarm continuing to blair. The other students around the table threw their hands over their ears, while Lazarus began to look around for the source.

"What is this? Some kinda fire drill? I guess you'd still have to do them in Japan…" Lazarus mumbled, knowing his voice wouldn't be hearable over the noise. A student from one end of the cafeteria finally spoke over the alarm.

"The proximity alarm! Someone's broken into the UA campus!" The student's cry carried over the cafeteria instantly, the noise from the students suddenly growing louder then the alarm itself. Lazarus felt his gut twist as he knew what was going to come next.

"Let's go. Now." Lazarus spoke, trying to grab the attention of the table. They quickly snapped out of their stupor, and followed Lazarus as he moved briskly towards the door, pasted tables of stunned students. Just as Lazarus reached the door, he heard the sound of a hundred chairs shifting at once.

"Crap." Lazarus muttered as the sound of feet pounding the ground grew behind him. He threw open the door and bolted, his friends following behind them as the growing swarm of panicked students washed through the double doors behind them.

"What's happening!" Tetsutetsu yelled, Lazarus tried to shout back at him.

"For a bunch of heroes, they've got a hell of a flight instinct! That's what!" Lazarus felt his legs burn as his heart threatened to beat itself out of his back pocket, he quickly took it out and reached under his shirt, shifting Stain's dagger to push his cube into the soft flesh of his chest, a burst of energy accompanying the gesture as he picked up a little more speed.

"Where should we go?" Kendo yelled, to Lazarus surprise, she was easily able to keep pace with him, Lazarus shrugged, trying not to glance over his shoulder at the approaching mob.

"I'm heading to the front gates!" Lazarus called out.

"Crazy...that's...probably...where...the...intruder!" Neito huffed from somewhere behind Lazarus, clearly lagging slightly behind the group.

"True Neito! But! Counterpoint! I don't care about dying! So just follow me and worst comes to worse, I'll be your meat shield!" Lazarus saw the corner up ahead, leaping and kicking off the wall to maintain his momentum as he turned down the hall and jumped up onto the rail, sliding down the staircase.

"That doesn't fill me with confidence!" Kosei yelled from the top of the stairs, taking the slightly slower but safer passage down the stairs. However, as Lazarus looked back, he stopped in his tracks.

"Lazarus! Don't stop!" Kendo yelled slowing down only slightly as she was about to pass him.

"Where'd everyone go?" Lazarus asked, causing the five other students to freeze (giving Neito the chance to catch up, and catch his breath).

Lazarus slowly climbed the stairs again, getting to the landing, looking both ways down the hall, only to see that the chaos behind them had disappeared. A wave of unease passed over him. This could have been a very good sign, but he doubted it was.

"...should we go back?" Kosei finally asked, breaking the silence as the six students shared a glance between them.

"Obviously." Lazarus scoffed, quickly switching to a jog, only for his shirt collar to be grabbed by Kendo.

"Hold on." Though Kendo's voice was firm, there was a fear in it Lazarus had heard many times before from his siblings.

Without thinking, Lazarus shook off her hand and continued to run.

"Death waits for no man!" Lazarus cried as he turned the corner, only to come face to face with a familiar student, leading two orderly lines of students behind him.

"Oh hey, it's you. Ilda right?" Lazarus pointed, trying to recall the boy's name. The boy froze in shock.

"Are...are you…the one who threw himself out the window yesterday?" The boy asked, his voice stiff, but still concerned, Lazarus clicked his tongue and patted the boy twice on the shoulder.

"No idea what you're talking about, you got the wrong guy, well, it seems like everything has calmed down, meet you guys out in the field I guess!" Without another word, Lazarus turned on his heels and walked off, leaving Ilda behind as he turned the corner.

"No one's dead today! Everyone's calmed down, so I assume it's all-" Lazarus began to speak to his friends, only to see Aizawa standing at the top of the landing, the rest of his friends gone from the top of the stairs.

"Poe-kun." Aizawa spoke, his eyes burrowing into Lazarus in a way he didn't really appreciate.

"Oh! You can just call me Lazarus, Aizawa-sensei, it's uh, nice to see you." Lazarus smiled thinly, moving to sidestep around Aizawa, only for Aizawa to match his movement.

"Just a question for you, Lazarus, about something American... Does the name, Deep Well, mean anything to you?" Aizawa's question was innocent enough, but it's very mention spread ice through his veins.

Before Lazarus could think up a retort, or anything, Aizawa looked him over from top to bottom, taking in every part of Lazarus's being in that moment.

"Never mind, I just got all the information I needed. I do think we'll meet again soon, Lazarus." Aizawa said nothing else, walking past him just as Ilda turned the corner.

Lazarus couldn't hear the conversation the teacher was having with his student over the sound of his own pounding heart.

* * *

"Lazarus!" Kosei spoke, nudging Lazarus as he did, finally snapping him out of his self-reflection.

"Hm, what?" Lazarus dumbly replied in turm, trying to gather his grip on reality again. Kosei sighed, placing a hand on his brow. Looking around the 1-B classroom they had all returned to.

"I said, you've been like this since the evacuation this afternoon, you alright? Lunch is almost over and you're still off in your own world." Kosei's concern was heartwarming, and Lazarus smiled to mask his growing worry on the Aizawa front.

"Yeah. Totally! Just got some non-school stuff on my mind, no biggie. Once hero training begins, I should-" Before Lazarus could continue, Kan's voice shot across the classroom.

"Poe-kun! Can I have a word." Kan was standing by the doorway, Lazarus let out a breath he had been holding for half a second, though Kan's words were direct and curt, his posture was far more open and relaxed. Lazarus quickly nodded to Kosei again, dropping his bag at his desk before moving up to his teacher.

"Sensei, something you need?" Lazarus kept his tone even, hoping that his teacher had already moved past the embarrassing events of the day before. Kan's face was a mix between apologetic and hopeful, not a good sign in Lazarus's books.

"Poe-kun, you see, class-A is over at USJ, a simulation building on the far side of the campus, they left just a few minutes ago... but due to some...mix ups, All-Might couldn't make it at the last moment, and Thirteen forgot some paperwork in their office…" As Kan continued on, Lazarus felt a pit grow in his gut.

"You want me to skip on basic hero training to go deliver some paperwork?" Lazarus phrased it like a question, but it was very much a statement of fact. Kan's sympathetic smile only grew.

"You should be back in time to do some of the work, obviously, I'd get a faculty member to run it out but everyone's busy with their own class...and uh, you seemed to be…" Kan began to struggle to phrase the next statement in a polite way.

Lazarus felt his anger bubble in his gut, and then guilt wash over him and instantly cool his temperament. He gave Kan a genuine smile.

"I've...given you a hard time, Sensei, you don't have to sugercoat it. I've got a few different quirks and only one of them is the helpful kind. I don't mind at all, just try not to have too much fun without me." Lazarus felt his guilt too wash away as Kan let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you, Poe-kun. Don't be too hard on yourself though, I can see potential in you, even with your, er, difficulties. I promise, this isn't some trend of punishment I'm going to put you through. After this, we'll just call the board clear, eh?" Kan finished, placing a kind hand on Lazarus shoulder, Lazarus smiled up at the bigger man, nodding enthusiastically. Kan laughed.

"Okay, I better get going, or else I'll end up missing the entire class...and fail to get the paperwork to them on time. See ya Sensei!" Lazarus turned to walk out the door, getting several steps past the doorway before Kan politely cleared his throat.

"Lazarus, I believe you'll want these." Kan spoke, holding up a stack of paperwork. Lazarus snapped his fingers and reddened slightly.

"Right." Lazarus carefully took the Papers from Kan and moved down the hall, away from his class. As soon as he made it outside the building, he found the crossroads to the different areas of UA and started jogging down the one to USJ, after all, how large could the UA campus really be?

* * *

"Please...someone...kill me...now…" Lazarus gasped, collapsing against a tree as he finally stopped jogging, the USJ building finally visible just a short way down the road. He rested for a moment, now fully knowing why UA had a fleet of buses for inside the school grounds.

Giving himself only a moment to complain, he quickly returned to his pace, if nothing else, he had his endurance to rely on.

He was surprised how calm and quiet this part of UA was, it was entirely isolated, he assumed it was because of noise from the simulation joint, or maybe the fact that if something went wrong, nothing else of value would get caught in any flooding from the building. Yet it hardly seemed like the building was even open, it was dead quiet from what Lazarus could tell.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket, Lazarus took it out and stared at the message.

"A blocked number is attempting to send you a text, would you like to view it?" Lazarus read aloud, noting his Deep Well contact's regular contact info. Without another thought, he rejected it, quickly, several more messages popped up, until Lazarus put his phone on silent all together. Getting back to the task at hand.

After making his way down the last bit of the path and climbing the stairs, he found himself staring down the massive metal doors to the facility.

"These look more like the doors to a nuclear bunker then a school site…" Lazarus muttered to himself with a dark chuckle, grabbing the handles with all his might and pushing them forward, then pulling them back when the first action produced no results.

Lazarus continued for a moment longer, before catching his breath, and noticing that the doors did not have hinges, and instead appeared to be designed to slide outwards. Much to his embarrassment and displeasure.

"It's like they build these things to screw with me…" Lazarus sighed as he grabbed a handle in each hand and yanked, the doors moving at an incredibly slow pace as they finally parted ways, allowing Lazarus to slip in between them, the doors slamming closed behind him.

Lazarus turned around, pulling the paperwork out of his pocket as he stepped forward into the USJ building, seeing what he assumed to be the entirety of class 1-A before him, all staring back at him.

Lazarus suddenly felt uneasy with all eyes turned towards him, it wasn't the intention, it was something primal behind all their eyes, fear. Several students tensed as he entered, and he saw who he assued was either Thirteen, or the Michelin Man turned pro hero; and Aizawa, both turning aggressively as soon as Lazarus took a step forward.

"Lazarus?" He heard Hanta speak from somewhere in the group, his voice unsure, Lazarus smiled, but no one relaxed, quickly turning back to look over the edge down into the pit of USJ

"Lazarus, stay back." Aizawa ordered, but Lazarus's curiousity had already been peaked, without thinking, Lazarus moved to join them. His breath was suddenly caught in his throat.

Thugs, rough looking men and women pooled down in the center area, materializing from some misty gate centered at the fountain in the middle of the area.

But more then that, a single image, even from so far away, burned itself into his brain, of a young man, a white gloved hand covering his face, a single eye visible as he emerged from the gateway. In that eye, Lazarus saw something dark, something twisted, something he had hoped to never see again. It was the eyes of someone who had seen their own darkness, and decided to embrace it without care.

His heart leaped into his throat as he pulled out his phone, his hand shaky as he quickly navigating to the blocked number on his phone, unblocking it to read the messages he had been sent just moments ago.

 _CONTACT: PLEASE READ. URGENT!_

 _CONTACT: ...Please respond Lich._

 _CONTACT: I'm begging you._

 _CONTACT: I know you're mad at me._

 _CONTACT: I don't want you to die._

 _CONTACT: For REAL I mean._

 _CONTACT: YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!_

 _CONTACT: DAMN IT._

 _CONTACT: IF YOU CAN READ THIS._

 _CONTACT: GET OUT OF U.A._

 _CONTACT: NOW._


End file.
